Rayman: Apocalypse
by Kurasuko
Summary: Read Hoodlum Resistance in order to understand how this starts. Rayman returns to a drastically different home, and things get worse very quickly... Rated T for violence and blood. Please R&R!
1. Breaking Point

All of the following is copyrighted by me 1/18/10

Rayman: Apocalypse

"Breaking Point"

Rayman fell out of the portal, hitting the ground with a thud. He turned around to see that the "portal" he'd stepped through was actually the Heart of the World. Suddenly, the chamber shook violently. Listening carefully, Rayman could hear the sounds of a battle outside. He could also hear muffled voices. Deciding to take a look, he walked out of the chamber, jumping into the floor portal.

The rest of the Fairy Council was in ruins, and Rayman felt a stronger tremor as he entered.

"This is like when André was nearing the Heart," Rayman said to himself. "Only worse." Feeling anxiety grow inside him, Rayman broke into a run, sprinting through the ruined halls. As he went through, he could swear that he heard screams from somewhere close. Rayman gritted his teeth and quickened his pace.

"H-help..." a weak voice came from under a pile of rubble. Rayman skidded to a stop and moved away the stones. Underneath was a young Teensie, weakly gasping for air. Glistening, blue blood flowed from under his body, forming a growing puddle.

"What happened here?" Rayman asked, clutching the Teensie's hand.

"Rayman..." the Teensie looked up. "The Hoodlums...they came back, and...the Resistance came but we...we couldn't stop them."

"The Resistance?" Rayman echoed uncertainly. What had happened while he was gone?

"The others...they need your help...find them, or we...we..." the Teensie's eyes seemed to see through Rayman, and he exhaled. Rayman felt his hand go limp. He hastily checked for a pulse, searched for body heat. He found both, but then the pulse began to weaken, and the heat began to fade rapidly. Eventually, the body was cold, and the pulse was gone. Rayman lay the hand down next to the Teensie and stood up slowly. He felt like he'd caused all this somehow. Ignoring the feeling as best he could, he continued through the crumbling walls to the outside, stumbling a little with each tremor.

The seen Rayman stepped into was more chaotic then inside the castle. There were numerous Teensies trying to hold a barrier around the Council, but they were obviously tired. In front of them were Razoff and Begoniax, who were helping all they could, picking off Hoodlums coming from ahead. Not far in front was Hoodlum _fighting_ the Hoodlums. He had the symbol of a cog and a tattered flag sewn onto his back. Rayman then saw that Razoff and Begoniax had the same symbols on their clothes. Rayman could also see Globox hiding behind a bush. Confused, Rayman went to one of the Teensies.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"The Hoodlums are going for a full-scale invasion for the Heart of the World!" the Teensie told him. "Rayman, it's good that you've returned, we need your help! The Hoodlum fighting the others is named Frank, and he was the leader of the Resistance. He's also the only one left. You need to help him!"

"What did the Resistance do?"

"They pulled off a number of operations against the Hoodlums!" the Teensie said distractedly. "Razoff saved all the Teensies here. Frank, Larry, and Globox had all been around the world, but something went wrong when they were trying to intercept the Hoodlums on their way here, and—" the Teensie was cut off as a bullet went through his head. He was dead before he hit the ground. Frank was trying to hold off the Hoodlums, but everyone knew that he was going to fail by himself. Rayman sprang up, fists already flying.

"Rayman?" Frank cried out in surprise. "You're back!"

"I think I preferred the world I left," Rayman threw his fist into another Hoodlum. "Any ideas on how to stop this?"

"Not a clue, but your help is appreciated," Frank replied, shooting a Hoodlum.

* * *

"I was so close!" André cried out, his fists flailing wildly. "Now that Rayman is here...actually, I don't think even he can solve this!" André resumed punching his fists in the air as the robed man came in.

"André," he began walking. "Fire the super-laser we've made."

"Don't tell me what to do!" André turned sharply. "And you will refer to me as _Lord_ André!"

"I will call you what I please," the robed man replied, still walking forward.

"Hoodlums!" André ordered. "Kill this fool!" Instantly ten Hoodlum Officers jumped in, surrounding the robed man, who was still walking. They all fired.

"Pathetic," the man muttered. There was a brief glimpse of a dark ring, and all the bullets vanished. Suddenly, the man was on top of on the Officers. He thrust his hand into the Officer, who suddenly shook, his outfit changing to a mixture of blacks and dark blues, his eyes a deep red. The man moved to the next on faster then André could comprehend, and the Dark Lum Lord watched as his entire force was changed in the blink of an eye. Without breaking stride, the man floated down to the same spot he'd jumped from and continued walking forward, this time followed by the changed Officers.

"What are you?" André shook. The man simply grabbed him and threw him into a wall.

"Dark Officers," he ordered. "Apprehend that idiotic ball of fuzz." He then stepped to the keypad, and entered the coordinates of the Fairy Council.

"The world ends today," he cast off his robe, laughing. Outside, the laser fired.

* * *

"Rayman!" Begoniax called. "Hoodlum to your right!" Rayman swung out his right fist, hitting something wiry. He turned and saw a Hoodlum fall to the ground. A lot more of the Teensies had fallen now, and the Fairy Council was slowly falling apart. Rayman, Frank, Begoniax, and Razoff were trying their best, but they were doomed to fail. Rayman turned to Frank and saw him twitch. He then looked up. His eyes widened.

"Get down!" he grabbed Rayman, pulling him to the ground. Rayman turned and saw as a gigantic laser fell upon the Fairy Council, destroying it and the Heart of the World within. The Fairy Council shattered like a mirror, and huge pieces of stone fell to the ground. Rayman shut his eyes, waiting for the end. After a moment, he realized that it didn't come. He opened his eyes and saw that Frank was up. He looked up and jumped, his head narrowly missing the huge stone that was floating just above him. He looked around, seeing only wasteland. The ground had changed to a dull gray, and dust of the same color swirled around. The Fairy Council was frozen in mid-collapse, its top becoming a series of floating rocks. Rayman then looked around and saw the Teensies had become statues. Some had their hands out, creating the now-vanished barrier around the Fairy Council like they were before it collapsed. Others were looking up in terror, forever watching a doom that would never come.

"No," Frank said, hopelessness filling his voice. Rayman turned and saw a stone Razoff and his gun. A spear floated in the air in front of the barrel, complete with a now-visible vapor trail. Beside him was a petrified Begoniax, trying to cast some sort of spell at a piece of the Fair Council falling towards the pair.

Rayman suddenly remembered someone important. Turning quickly, he felt the same hopelessness he'd heard come from Frank. Globox stood, his eyes full of terror and his mouth wide open, looking at a cluster of rocks about to fall upon him. Frank was looking out at where the Hoodlums had been. Rayman turned out to face the lake and its islets and saw nothing. Just pieces of land dotting an eerily-calm lake. No Hoodlums.

"Look at the sky," Frank pointed out. Rayman looked up and saw black. There were no stars. Just black and, in the distance, two red moons. Rayman then realized that in this area, all the vegetation was gone, too. There wasn't even any grass. Just gray ground.

"I don't understand," Rayman said finally. "What happened?"

"The world's dead," Frank couldn't have said it more bluntly.

"Dead? But..."

"If I can understand this right, then _dying_ is a better word," Frank continued. "Since this section was the closest to the Heart, it went first."

"So..." Rayman looked at his feet. "I failed? Is this it?"

"We won't figure that out sitting here," Frank replied. He didn't seem to understand what he was talking about.

"Don't you get it?!" Rayman snapped turning on Frank. "We _lost_! André just destroyed the world! We failed! I failed..."

"No," Frank walked up. "André didn't do this. You of all people should remember that he wanted to rule the world by using the Heart. He wouldn't have blown it up. There'd be no world left to rule. Furthermore, this world's not dead—yet. We still have a chance to fix this. If we can find out what happened, then maybe we can reverse it and get the guy who did it in the first place. We still have a shot." Rayman didn't feel the same, but part of him wanted to believe that there was something he could do.

"Alright," he got up. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Frank asked.

"Hopefully..." Rayman began, then hesitated. "...if not too much has changed, then I know of someone who can help us.


	2. Coming of Autumn

"Coming of Autumn"

1 day after Heart Detonation

Clearleaf Forest

The two red moons gleamed eerily as Rayman and Frank walked through what was left of Clearleaf Forest. It had been one day, but the sky had not changed. The dead world had never woken, so morning had never come. The remainder of Clearleaf Forest had changed since Rayman had last seen it. The forest he remembered was green and vibrant, sun shining through gaps in the many trees, glinting off rivers that sprang forth with life from dazzling waterfalls. However, there was only a trickling, weak flow of dirty water against a monotonous tan earth now. The trees had turned white, their browned leaves snapping off in the pathetic breeze that remained from a world past. Wispy dust blew around the forest, seeming to beat the trees down into submission. Rayman found it surprisingly hard to see what had happened to the once beautiful and inviting forest he'd seen so long ago.

The two stopped at a small stream of water, watching the subtle, lifeless flow of the water as it crept down the slightly slanted ground.

_A Hoodlum? But how did it...?_

"So," Frank said. "Who exactly are we looking for? Everyone's turned to stone, aren't they?"

"Maybe," Rayman said. "But then why wasn't I? Or you, for that matter? It's possible that they're still moving, and we need all the help we can get."

_It doesn't matter what it's doing here. A Hoodlum is a Hoodlum, and I won't allow them to do this!_

"Okay, but who—" Frank could hear the displacement of air behind him. Something was leaping from one of the trees, and coming toward him. Frank paused, waited for a moment, and then turned awkwardly to the right. He saw a silhouetted figure land hard at the ground in front of him. Without thinking, Frank slung his blunderbuss off his back and fired. The figure was fast at recovering from having missed however, because it easily dodged the bullet. Frank turned and saw the blurred shadow run up a tree, then back flip off, changing its position to a kick.

"Trying that again, are you?!" Frank barely aimed, firing at the quickly approaching figure. The figure held out its hands, and frank and Rayman could see a brief flash of sparks before the bullet hit the figure's stomach. Its momentum lost, it fell back, hitting the ground on one knee. A green can flew from it at the same time. Incredibly, the direct hit to the stomach hadn't torn through like it should've, and it hadn't even made an entry. Clutching its stomach, the figure turned and darted into the cluster of trees. Frank growled looking after it, then saw the green can.

"I'm not letting you get away!" Frank muttered, touching the can. Energy surged through him, and he took a quick glance at his twin machine guns and followed the character into the trees. Feeling helpless, Rayman ran by, purposefully kicking the can as he went. He felt the old sense of speed that he'd first experienced in the Fairy Council almost two years ago. Despite the circumstances, it was comforting to be home again.

The trees here had their roots exposed. They were tangled on each other, forming strange, gnarled versions of their former selves. They passed by in a blur as Frank hopped after the mysterious figure that'd attacked him exclusively. Not getting any closer, Frank roared in frustration and anger and fired both his machine guns at the figure. The wild, un-aimed shots all missed, burning through the twisted trees. The figure jumped (fell?) down suddenly. Frank was there in flash, and he realized that it was a low clearing in the forest. The figure was there, but it had turned and seen Frank come in, too. Rayman was a ways behind still. A spark leapt from the figure's hand, followed by a flame.

"A fireball?!" Frank cried out in surprise. The figure threw it, then jumped further into the forest. Frank used his enhanced speed to dodge the fireball easily, then began to follow. Then, looking up, he stopped.

Rayman jumped into the clearing and saw Frank watching the other side.

"Where'd that person go?" he asked.

"Into the forest," Frank readied his two guns. "But we, unfortunately, have bigger problems." He then pointed to an advancing army of Hoodlums.

"Great," Rayman grumbled. "But...something seems different about them." The Hoodlums Rayman knew first of all wore brown and tan clothing, and would've started firing and running around when they saw Frank and Rayman. These ones wore black and navy blue, and they walked at the exact same pace in a perfect line, the blunderbusses firmly at the ready position.

"Their eyes!" Rayman exclaimed suddenly. In place of the regular Hoodlum's eyes, these Hoodlum's eyes were red, and they did not dart around, but remained locked in the center, watching Rayman and Frank.

"Why aren't they firing?" Frank wondered aloud. "They're not even breaking formation! ...Well, alright, that just makes killing them easier!" He hoisted his twin guns up and started firing. Rayman began throwing his fists. After a few seconds it became apparent that something was wrong: none of the Hoodlums were dropping, or even appeared to be injured. Rayman slowed down his rate of fire and sent a single punch through one. The fist went up, then a section of the Hoodlum's body altered, twisting into a hole that the fist passed through, then came out of again. The Hoodlum didn't even break step. Frank's shots were going right through the Hoodlums, doing great damage to the already-dead trees.

"The attacks are going right through them!" Rayman called to Frank.

"So I noticed," Frank muttered. "Try this, then!" Frank held down both the triggers of his guns. Rayman watched them cease fire and then begin to glow and shake. Frank then jumped forward and threw his arms into an "X" in front of his body, producing a large, yellow tornado in front of him. The wind whipped up quickly, and the oblivious Hoodlums were swept into the vortex.

"We've wasted too much time as it is!" Frank yelled over the howling winds. "Come on!" He leapt through the tornado into the trees beyond. Deciding not to bother with wondering why _they_ weren't being sucked up, Rayman followed.

The same blurred vision was at his side as Frank rushed through. He was moving even faster than he had been earlier in hopes to catch his attacker. Moving through, Frank could see the familiar silhouette ahead, panting. It looked up, saw Frank, and somersaulted off at incredible speed. Frank kept on moving, and he thought that he could hear Rayman close behind. There was a strange orange thing on the tree coming up...

"Uh oh," Frank suddenly felt himself going slower, and he knew that the effects of the green can had worn off. He had landed on the tree with that weird orange thing on it. Frank looked and saw that it was actually an orange can.

"Don't think that you're getting off that easy," Frank muttered, touching the can. As Rayman came up beside him (also now normal again), Frank pulled up his orange and blue sniper rifle, aimed, and fired. Despite the rapid somersaults, the shot hit, and Frank's attacker fell.

"Did you kill him?" Rayman asked.

"No," Frank replied. "Shot him in the leg. He may have information. Let's go." Frank ran up to a second clearing where his opponent had landed. The enemy was at the other edge of the clearing, clutching its leg. Frank could see a growing pool of blood coming from it. Rayman came up and saw the downed opponent. Then he noticed something else about the one they'd been pursuing...

Before Rayman could voice his thoughts, more altered Hoodlums came out of the trees to the west. This group however, had a leader. They suddenly stopped in a perfect line, and someone all too familiar stepped out of the trees.

"It's..." Frank stepped back involuntarily. "_You_." Dark Rayman looked at the wounded person in the shade of the withered trees, then at Frank and Rayman. He looked different then he had at Rayman's last encounter; now he had Rayman's clothes on, except that instead of being purple and red, they were blue and darker blue, as was his hair and gloves. His shoes were black, and his eyes glowed the same red as the new Hoodlums'. For the first time Rayman knew of, he spoke.

"Kill those two," he ordered. "Take the girl."

"'Girl?'" Frank echoed, then looked over at the wounded person. "Wait...so that person isn't with you guys?"

"Hmph," Dark Rayman sighed. "I don't give information to urchins." Frank grimaced.

"You'll regret that!" he raised his sniper rifle and fired. The shot hit Dark Rayman in his right eye. Dark Rayman took a few staggering steps back surprised. Strange black liquid hit the ground.

"Impressive aim for a novice," he regained his composure quickly. "Tell me, can the last of the _regular_ Hoodlums do this?" His black right eye suddenly changed to dull red, which intensified until the bullet Frank had fired shot out of it. Frank saw it fly out and was thrown onto the ground a split-second later by his own bullet, now lodged above _his_ right eye.

"Mm," Dark Rayman mused. "Guess not. Alright, finish him. I'll deal with my lighter counterpart." The entire group of changed Hoodlums advanced on Frank quickly, too quickly to even comprehend at first. The new Hoodlums didn't pause to question, didn't even think. If their leader pointed somewhere, then they were there right then. Now, however, they advanced slowly, as if cherishing the moment.

"Someone should keep their eye on the ball!" Rayman's head was knocked sideways as a dark blue fist smacked into it. Dark Rayman's very touch was poisonous, and Rayman could feel the searing pain in his face as another fist collided with it.

"The years haven't been kind to you, Rayman," Dark Rayman said as he advanced, his fists knocking Rayman back and forth. "I remember when you were strong. I remember when you knew that you were either strong enough to fight me or at least fast enough to run. But look at you now." Rayman was hammered down to the ground. "You're weak. It's not even fun trying to defeat you any more, because I'm so high above you that you're beaten to a pulp, I haven't broken a sweat, and the Dark Hoodlums haven't even killed Frank yet." Rayman spat on the ground, looking helplessly at the mob approaching Frank.

"Frank will live," Dark Rayman nodded. "The Dark Hoodlum's touch will change him into one of them. He'll be stronger, faster, and more loyal than a dog whose bone you hold. It'll be a good life for him, actually. All he'll lose is soul, his will...not a bad trade for 'being on the winning team' as that toad Globox would say...probably. I wouldn't know, he's a statue now anyway." Rayman spat out some blood on the ground. Suddenly, there was a flash of white light from Frank's direction. The Dark Hoodlums dissolved as an injured Frank stood up.

"What?!" Dark Rayman cried out. Suddenly, a fireball struck his face. He turned in anger to face his attacker. Rayman stood up and looked, too. He could see the leg wound first, and then noticed the slightly tanned skin, partially covered with intricate purple designs. A bushy purple tail flicked back and forth. Another fireball was readied in one hand.

"Good to see you again, Rayman," Ly said. "Wish that I could say the same for your dark side, here."

"When did you meet Dark Rayman?" Rayman asked out of curiosity, dodging a punch.

"Just now," Ly answered, throwing her fireball. "I pieced things together from your conversation."

"Enough!" Dark Rayman threw both his fists out, but a bullet in the face stopped him.

"Let's see you shoot _that_ one out of your face!" Frank limped up. "Jerk!" Ly gave Rayman a questioning look and stepped nervously away from Frank. Dark Rayman stood up and looked at his three adversaries.

"Oh no," he said without enthusiasm. "It appears that I am outnumbered. Oh whatever will I do? ...This oughta' work." He suddenly drew into himself, and his features increasingly blurred, until he was just a dark blue blob in a vaguely-Rayman shape. Suddenly, the blob separated into three, each of which was redefined. Dark Rayman stood back up, now in the middle of Dark Frank, a blue and navy blue version of Frank whose eyes were an empty black, and Dark Ly, who was blue-skinned with dark blue designs where the purple should have been. Her normally bushy tail had been replaced by a long thin one, like a panther's, and her eyes were the same hollow black as Dark Frank's. A fireball lit up in Dark Ly's hand, but the fire was deep blue in color, almost black at the center.

"That certainly evened the odds," Dark Rayman laughed. "Well, in my opinion, at least. You guys didn't exactly get the good end of the deal."

"I've waited a long time to do this," Rayman muttered. Surprisingly, he charged, and locked hands with Dark Rayman. Frank and Ly watched in silence until a black bullet flew by Frank's head.

"Itching for a fight, Dark Me?" Frank pulled out his blunderbuss. "Me too!" He jumped to the right, firing while dodging fire. Ly turned to her double, who was tossing the black fire between her hands. She looked up and gave "you first" look. Ly grimaced and concentrated. Exhaling calmly, she felt the familiar warmth in her hand. Dark Ly gave a cruel smile and bent low, like a cat ready to pounce on its prey.

_The man watched on the monitor as Dark Rayman and Rayman, Dark Ly, and Ly, and Dark Frank and Frank, all clashed simultaneously in the clearing. The fact that any of them had survived was surprising and unexpected, but that was alright. Dark Rayman was overly superior in power ant intelligence to Rayman, and so were the counterparts of the other two, even if they were mute. The destruction of the light was assured._

_ ...Except, what was that light that had come from Frank? The man did not want to forget that, because he had been played by fate before. Overlooking one small detail can be your downfall. This time, the man would not take that chance. He turned away from the monitor and left. He had experiments to do._


	3. Contradiction

"Contradiction"

1 day after Heart Detonation

Clearleaf Forest

Rayman, Ly, and Frank were each locked in combat with their darker selves. Ly and Dark Ly were moving closer and farther apart, alternating between kicks and fire. Frank and Dark Frank were moving in a wide circle, firing at each other between the other combatants. Rayman and Dark Rayman were locked in the center, each trying to force the other back. Dark energy swirled around Rayman and Dark Rayman's pressed-together hands.

Ly went in close, sliding underneath a fireball from Dark Ly, and performing an upside-down scissor kick, spring-boarding up with her hands as she did so. The first leg hit, but Dark Ly back-flipped and rushed forward, grabbing Ly's forearm. Ly stared into the black eyes of a face that looked like hers, and watched as the blackness seemed to leap out from them, consuming her vision.

Ly was running. Something was chasing her. Something that would kill her if it got to her. Ly's legs ached from running, but when she tried to somersault to gain speed, she couldn't. Ly couldn't jump at all. All she could do was keep running. Panting, she could see someone ahead. Rayman! His back was to her, but she had to get his attention. She tried calling to him, but she couldn't speak. Suddenly, a line of dark blue streaked passed her. It stopped at Rayman, and it took the shape of Dark Rayman. Rayman hadn't noticed. Dark Rayman turned to face Ly and grinned evilly. Then, he grabbed Rayman's head and hoisted him into the air. Rayman was struggling, and Ly was running as fast she could, but she didn't seem to be getting any closer. With horror, she watched as strange black lines flew into Rayman's body, until his entire body was the same black as the dark area that surrounded them. Dark Rayman let go, and Ly watched a red spark drop from his hand. As Dark Rayman disappeared, there was the sound of breaking glass as the darkness around Rayman's body shattered. However, the only thing underneath was fire, which spread to the rest of the darkness—and Ly. The last thing Ly saw was the burning body of Rayman among a sea of flames.

* * *

Frank angrily fired at Dark Frank, who dodged it easily and fired his own shots in return. Frank fired again, and the two watched as the bullets collided, forming yellow and blue explosion. The force of it knocked frank off his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dark Ly back-flip and go in close, grabbing Ly's arm. Suddenly, he was pulled up by Dark Frank, who forced Frank to look into his dark side's hollow sockets. The darkness seemed to burst open, until it covered everything.

Frank was facing a giant Dark Rayman. He looked to his left and saw Rayman. To his right was Ly. Rayman jumped up suddenly and threw several punches at Dark Rayman. The giant counterpart staggered back in pain. Then, Ly jumped up, kicked, and threw a massive fireball. Dark Rayman roared in anger. Seeing his chance, Frank fired from the two identical massive guns he hadn't realized he'd been holding—too soon. Ready for the attack, Dark Rayman grabbed both the shots in his hands and threw them. Frank had thought that they would be thrown at him. Instead the two bullets hit Rayman and Ly, and when the smoke cleared, they were both on the ground. Neither of them moved.

* * *

Rayman struggled against Dark Rayman. The two leaned back and forth, power shifting from one side to the other. Around them, two different battles waged.

"My creations are stronger than your friends," Dark Rayman said. "They are faster, smarter, stronger, _better_. You will lose."

"We'll see about that!" Rayman gritted his teeth.

"I believe we already have," Dark Rayman looked to his left (Rayman's right). Rayman followed his gaze and saw Dark Ly standing triumphantly over Ly, who was on the ground, shivering. Rayman noticed that Ly's, the _real_ Ly's, eyes were black. There was a loud sound from the other side, and Rayman looked to see Frank, who was slumped by a tree, twitching. His eyes had also become black.

"Frank! Ly!" He cried out. He suddenly felt himself falling. Dark Rayman was over him, shoving Rayman's body to the ground. The colors of the world seemed to swim, and then black appeared in their midst. The black grew, until it was all that remained.

Rayman didn't remember getting up, and he didn't know where he was. He looked around, but all he could see was black. He then felt a drop of water hit his head. Followed by another. And another. Soon, it was raining. Lightning crashed, and Rayman thought that he could define where the sky met the ground. He didn't move, however. Lightning crashed again, but this time something had changed. There was a silhouette there. Rayman started running, hoping that he could find answers for what was going on here. Lightning crashed, and this time the silhouette was joined by a dead tree. Rayman ran faster, an uneasy feeling growing somewhere deep within him. He was closer now. Lightning struck again, but now the silhouette had changed. It was shorter and rounder, and it had no other real shape. Rayman slowed down. It should be here. He could make out the small thing in front of him. Bending down, he strained his eyes to look at it, but he still couldn't make out what it was. Lightning lit it up briefly and Rayman jumped back with a start. It was a tombstone. Then, his surprise gone, he went back up. Who was it a tombstone of? He waited for the lightning to come. After what felt like an eternity, the lightning flashed again. Rayman fell back and cried out. There was one word roughly scratched into the tombstone, as if with a sharp stick:

_Ly_

"Aaagh!" Rayman sat bolt upright. He looked around. To his left was Frank, unconscious. Rayman hurriedly looked to his right. Ly was breathing softly, sleeping on the dead grass.

"I'm back in Clearleaf Forest," Rayman said. He looked for Dark Rayman and the other clones, but they were nowhere in sight. He thought about what he'd seen. Was it a dream? Had meeting Dark Rayman been a dream? Shaking his head, Rayman stood up with some effort and went over to Ly.

"Ly," he knelt down and shook her lightly. "Ly!" Ly's eyes opened wide and she jumped.

"Ah!" she gasped. "Wha—Rayman? You're okay?" She sat up, placing one hand on the grass to steady herself. "...My head..." She rubbed her head gingerly.

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Rayman muttered. Ly looked up at him, and her expression turned to concern.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "Your eyes all red and swollen, like you've been crying."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rayman looked away. "Do you think that Dark Rayman was really here?" Ly looked down at the bullet hole still in her leg.

"Yep," Ly muttered. "Otherwise this wouldn't be here." She pulled out some dead grass and wrapped around her wound.

"All things considered," Frank walked up, rubbing his eyes, "it's amazing you didn't die of blood loss."

"You'd think that you'd be a bit more apologetic," Ly glared. "Since you shot me in the first place."

"So would you," Frank argued. "But I guess trying to kick me in the head at 61 kilometers per hour doesn't amount to much these days, huh?"

"Well you can't blame me!" Ly snapped back. "You're a Hoodlum! What was I supposed to think?!"

"Both of you, stop!" Rayman ordered. "If Dark Rayman _was_ here, then he only left us so that something else could pick us up! Frank, you've been doing things the longest, do you know of a place that we could hide?" Frank thought for a moment, then looked down at the ground.

"Anyone have a mirror?" Frank asked.

"A mirror?" Rayman and Ly echoed in unison. "Why?"

"Well," Frank looked around. "We can't get there without a mirror."

"I have enough magic left to warp the three of us somewhere close," Ly said, hoping to help. "Where do we need to go?"

"Ever been to the Bog of Murk?"

* * *

The Bog of Murk

Ly had teleported them into the ruined mirror path. It was only partially restored, and Frank pressured Rayman and Ly to move on, due to the memories it gave him.

"Through here," he said hurriedly. The trio stepped through into...darkness.

"Where are we?" Ly asked uncertainly.

"Something's not right," Frank muttered. "Ly, can you conjure up some fire?"

"Sure," Ly said distractedly. A sphere of warm light fell around the three as Ly formed a fireball in here hand. Rayman's eyes widened.

"I recognize this place," he said suddenly. "This is Razoff's mansion!"

"This used to be the Resistance base," Frank's voice carried a certain weight to it as he observed the room. "We left through that mirror to stop the Hoodlums from taking over the Fairy Council. But...something went wrong. I woke almost half an hour later, and the forest was ablaze. When I finally made it to the Fairy Council, we held out for less than 10 minutes. Then...my friends were all killed. Right after that, you showed up, and then the laser...They all died. The world died, and it was my fault! I led everyone to their deaths..." Frank's voice trailed off. Ly was surprised to hear who she knew to be the normally apathetic and sarcastic Frank to sound so...sad. Rayman hadn't realized so much had happened. There was a scuttle.

"Something's here!" Rayman called out. Frank had his blunderbuss out in an instant. The scuttling sound came again. This time, it was joined by more. At the edge of the light, a black, thin leg came and went out of sight.

"Ly, can you make that thing brighter?" Rayman asked.

"I'll do better than that," Ly extended the fire, increasing its brightness, and then shot it the now revealed candles in the room. The room was flooded with light, and several mutated creatures screeched.

"What are they?!" Ly recoiled in disgust.

"These things shouldn't exist!" Rayman looked at the malformed creatures.

"Oh, they're not going to," Frank was furious at the creatures for making a nest in the former base. He held down the trigger for as long as possible, then fired. The larger shot hit the creatures and reduced them to ash.

"That shouldn't have happened," Frank noted.

"It's the light!" Ly realized. "They can't touch light! That's why their at the edges of the candlelight!" Frank and Rayman looked at her, shrugged and then started creating as much light as possible. Frank fired shot after shot, Ly extended the fire to anywhere possible, and Rayman grabbed two candles and was sending his fists out into the creatures with them.

"This place used to have electricity!" he told Frank. "Where's the power?" Frank thought about it.

"There was a generator in the basement near the arena!" he told Rayman. "I think the switch is there, too!"

"Understood!" Rayman, using the candles as both weapons and shields, ran through and down into the basement. There were a few crashing sounds, a click, a whir, and then light was restored to the house. There was a deafening screech as the creatures fell away to dark ash, which then too, disintegrated. Rayman returned, a little bruised, but otherwise unharmed. Frank sighed, and Ly smiled.

* * *

Frank, Ly, and Rayman sat at a small table.

"So, for a recap," Frank summarized, "a laser blew up the Heart of the World, Dark Rayman is back and has an army of near-indestructible Dark Hoodlums, and, when taking everything into account, we aren't entirely sure if André's actually the one behind this."

"Yep," Rayman leaned back, exhausted. "That just about sums it up. Why isn't the Bog of Murk dead, though?"

"The Bog of Murk didn't die, because the world's nether-regions didn't depend on the Heart in the first place," Frank explained. "That's why they've always been so chaotic, and why, for the most part, their denizens didn't really care what happened topside. The only time that they got into the fight is if they got involved."

"Okay," Ly jumped in, "but here's an important question. All the denizens of this world were turned to stone. Why are we still normal?"

"Being a Hoodlum," Frank thought aloud. "I technically was created, and never meant to exist in the first place."

"When you put it that way," Ly said, "I was created by Polokus, and since I wasn't really in the world originally, I couldn't claim to come _from_ it. So...why Rayman?"

"What if..." Rayman thought. "What if when I was sent to that other world, or dimension, or whatever, that messed it all up? Since I wasn't from that world, whatever happened there wouldn't have affected me. However, since I crossed dimensions into that world, and did so again to get back, that might've nullified my 'citizenship,' as it were, in this world, making it to where I was _from_ neither, and negating any effects of being part of this world or that one might give me."

"So, in other words..." Frank said. "The reason that we weren't petrified was because we weren't technically _supposed_ to be here to start out with, or, in Rayman's case, he went in between two worlds so much that he was 'erased' from both."

"Seems awfully convenient," Ly muttered. "But, it does help us. So, I guess that this makes it three people against the world?"

"We'll worry about that tomorrow," Rayman yawned. "Saving a ruined world really tires you out. Let's get some sleep."

"This place isn't quite as safe as it once was, Rayman," Frank cautioned. "We might have to sleep in shifts in order to prevent being snuck up on."

"I can't say that I like him much of the time," Ly said, ignoring the look from Frank, "but Frank is right. It'd be better if someone was watching."

"As long as I don't get the first shift, I'm fine with it," Rayman said. He then turned serious. "Tomorrow we start from scratch in rebuilding this world. I've started out in bad spots before, and you know that Ly, but never like this. No matter what happens, we all have to trust each other and watch each others' backs. We don't exactly have a long time to fix this, so we need to make this count. Got it?"

"Yeah..." Frank said. He seemed distant, but Rayman couldn't figure out why.

"I'll take the first shift," Ly told the others. "You two get some rest." Rayman noticed that Ly also had something on her mind. He'd have to ask her what was going on later. The memory of the tombstone flashed through his mind. Rayman secretly promised himself that he wouldn't let that happen. Not again. Following Frank to the bunk room, Rayman lazily fell on one the beds and was asleep soon after.


	4. Reverse Core

"Reverse Core"

2 days after Heart detonation

The Bog of Murk

Rayman woke up the next day and was surprised that he hadn't been called to his shift earlier. He looked around. Ly was asleep next to him, although...uncomfortably close. Rayman thought about shifting over, but then realized that there was a part of him that preferred the proximity. After a small but furious inner debate, Rayman finally slid a meager ten centimeters away. It was a compromise.

"It's...comforting," Rayman jumped at the sound of Frank's oddly distant voice, "...to see the two moons at their natural color, don't you think?"

"Have you been keeping watch this whole time?" Rayman asked.

"Since we aren't real living things, Hoodlums don't need sleep," Frank explained. "Call it a luxury."

"You've been watching out the window at the Bog of Murk the whole time," Rayman concluded.

"Thinking mostly," Frank corrected. "About...well, numerous things. First of all, we need a way out of here in order to repair this world, like you said last. The problem is, the mirrors are broken, thanks to the Hoodlums sabotaging the power source in the Longest Shortcut. It was a miracle that we weren't sent straight back to the forest around the Fairy Council when we took the mirror back here. We need another way out."

"Last time I was here," Rayman recalled. "Hoodlums were, too, and they had a lot of boats and blimps."

"I was thinking about that," Frank agreed. "When I first came here, I almost got killed by a massive Hoodlum patrol, using the Hoodlum airships. It looks like the Hoodlums that weren't wiped out in the initial explosion of the Heart were somehow transformed into—what did he call them—Dark Hoodlums, but their machinery stayed here. When we were chasing Ly through the forest, I noticed some of it."

"So, if we can locate where the airships came from," Rayman continued, "then we can find one, and use it to ride through the dark clouds that always move around here up into the surface world!"

"Right," Frank agreed. The two heard a yawn, followed by the sound of creaking floorboards.

"No disrespect," Ly walked up, gingerly rubbing her back, "but sleeping on an old wooden floor isn't exactly the most comfortable experience, especially when you wake back up."

"You certainly didn't show it," Frank commented. "You were out before you even hit the ground."

"So," Ly turned to Rayman, ignoring Frank, "how do we keep going?"

"We fly out of the ground," Rayman answered.

"What?" Ly looked at Rayman, followed by Frank, who shrugged. Rayman looked out another window.

"Frank," he pointed out into the swampland. "I can see a faint outline of an airship flying over there. It's possible that there're more in that direction."

"Gives us something to go on," Frank stood up, stretching. "Haven't moved from that spot in a while..."

As they left Razoff's mansion, Frank turned and looked at it silently. At the very top, a broken flagpole curved in the wind.

"Hold on," Frank told Rayman and Ly. He went back inside. Outside the flagpole suddenly raised up. Frank slowly appeared on a rising platform. He was holding something. Tying it to the flagpole, he then stepped away. Once again, the emblem of the Hoodlum Resistance waved above the Bog of Murk. Frank jumped down.

"Because we aren't _all_ dead yet," Frank gave a silent prayer to Larry, Mort, Jimmy, Joe, and Bob, even though the last one hadn't done too much. "Let's go."

* * *

There was a sluggish trip by boat through the dark, murky waters of the bog as the trio pushed through to where Rayman had seen the airship. Suddenly, however Rayman stopped rowing.

"What?" Ly asked looking over his shoulder. Half-submerged in the water was a massive ship. "Why does this look...familiar?"

"Hey," Rayman rowed closer, "this window isn't flooded! It looks like the ship isn't fully flooded. Maybe we can find out how it got here." Rayman jumped in, followed closely by Ly. Frank looked around, figured that there was no point in staying in the boat, and climbed into the porthole as well.

"Ouch," Frank muttered as he hit the ground. Ly turned around, seeming both surprised and amused. "Reminds me too much of how I first ended up in the bog." As if in emphasis, Frank's blunderbuss came down after him, hitting him on the head. "That was borderline cruel."

"This doesn't look Hoodlum in structure," Rayman noted feeling the metal walls. "Nor Knaaren or Teensie, for that matter...Who made this?"

"Rayman..." Ly was staring at a shadowed corner. "I think I know." Rayman looked at the wall and saw a skull that was oddly jagged at the jaw with a pair of wrenches crossed behind it...

"It's..." Rayman stammered. "...It's the _Buccaneer_." Rayman, Ly, and Frank had unwittingly stepped into Admiral Razorbeard's downed ship.

"So...why didn't it sink to the bottom?" Ly asked uncertainly. "I mean, it did explode..." Frank was looking carefully at one of the walls.

"Hoodlums," the one word he said told the entire story. "This ship was repaired. This is the second time that it crashed."

"So..." Rayman was looking at the symbol with Ly. "Where's Razorbeard? Or any Hoodlums?" As if in response, the sound of rusted metal scraping on wood came from the darkness behind them. It was followed by a groan. A single yellow light appeared, permanently held into the shape of what looked like an angry eye. The yellow glow illuminated a small part of its source—a jagged, metal head, with familiar spikes around its lower edge.

"It can't be," Rayman walked closer.

"Admiral Razorbeard?" Ly lit the area quickly, and in the flickering light, the once powerful admiral hung, badly damaged, from two shackles put into the lopsided ceiling. Around him were the destroyed bodies of his henchmen, sparks leaping from their circuits at random intervals. Admiral Razorbeard gave an electronic cough, and the shackles shook with his body.

"So," he said weakly, turning his head to look at his three new companions, exposing a nasty hole in his right eye as he did so, "the great Rayman has returned from his 2 year absence to try and save the world again? And he brought the fairy, too. The only one of you I don't recognize is the Hoodlum you walk with."

"Why are you here?" Ly asked. "Shouldn't you be dead?"

"Aye," Razorbeard agreed, "and I'm coming frightfully close to running out of charge. As we have a common enemy, though, what say ye free me?" Ly glared, but looked at Rayman all the same. Rayman looked at Frank who was examining the shackles and the damage down to Razorbeard and the broken pirates. Eventually, Rayman nodded. Ly grimaced but didn't argue. Rayman knew what he was doing. Ly threw two fireballs, breaking the shackles off.

Frank steadied the admiral, setting him down on the floor, and then went back to examining the pirates and shackles.

"So what happened?" Rayman asked.

"I was roamin' the open sea, searching for lands to plunder," Razorbeard began, "when I happened upon the misfortune of running into a group of Hoodlums. I'd dealt with those landlubbers afore, but this small party was different. They were in colors darker than the most savage waters, and their eyes glowed with a demon fire. Also, they were lead by a lad who appeared to idolize _you_, Rayman, for he looked like you. However, he bore the same colors as the new Hoodlums, and his eyes glowed the color of freshly spilled blood. Anyway, the lookalike gave the order to attack. My fleet at my side, I gave the same order. But despite my power and size, the Hoodlums wordlessly advanced! The cannon fire and bullets seemed to move right through them, as if it was never there! Suddenly, the Hoodlums were on me ship! I tried to hold them off, but they got down into the hull, and the _Buccaneer_ fell down into the waves! When I awoke, I was being strung off into those very shackles in _my_ ship! Me crew...were all massacred, and I watched the stragglers get destroyed as I was hung from the crooked ceiling. Then, the Hoodlums walked down the hallway, leaving me here to rust."

"They must have plans," Rayman figured. "Otherwise they would've killed you, too." Razorbeard nodded.

"So...what?" he wondered aloud.

"Now's not the time," Frank stood up. "Razorbeard, I'm almost certain that your ship is repaired, otherwise the Hoodlum's wouldn't have wasted time fixing this hole in the wall. Can you fly us out of here?"

"Depends on where ye'll be needing to go," Razorbeard answered.

"The Land of the Livid Dead," Ly answered. "Can you get us there?"

"Aye," Razorbeard replied. "That's close enough. After that, though, you're on yer own." Rayman nodded.

"We'll find a way around," he said. "Let's get going." Razorbeard attempted to stand, but a few stray bolts flew from his body, and he groaned, falling to one knee. Frank and Ly rushed to his side and helped him up. They began carrying him, Rayman walking beside. Razorbeard gave a small laugh.

"It's funny," he said to Rayman, "Not to long ago I swore to kill you if it was the last thing that I did. And now we're helping each other to fight some one else."

"Tell me about it," Frank chimed in. "The only reason I'm not one of those Dark Hoodlums was because I got fired in the first op before Rayman vanished."

"Lucky you, eh?" Razorbeard laughed again. When they reached the wheel they set Razorbeard down.

"Sure you don't need a crutch or something?" Ly asked.

"If I said that I've been through worse, I'd be lyin'," Razorbeard put both hands firmly on the ground. "But I can say that now mute, patchwork lubbers will get the best of Admiral Razorbeard!" He grunted and after some effort, stood up fully. Taking the wheel he began to take the ship out. The ship lurched, and—stopped. Razorbeard tried again, and the same thing happened.

"She's stuck!" Razorbeard announced. "I can't move her at all!"

"Guys," Ly threw a fireball in the distance, "we got company." Dark Hoodlums emerged from the blackness walking, as usual, in perfect rows.

"This is bad," Rayman turned to Razorbeard. "As you noticed, we can't hit these things. Do you have anything that could help us out?"

"No, I don't believe I do," Razorbeard said unhappily.

"What do we do?" Frank was backing up slowly, attempting to fire on the Dark Hoodlums. Suddenly, there was a flash of light. Three eerily similar voices were heard by Rayman, Ly, and Frank:

_We will help you._

The light faded away, and the three saw that the Hoodlums were almost upon them. Suddenly, a spark appeared within the group. It was followed by an orb of blinding light which grew rapidly, enveloping all the Dark Hoodlums. Dark blue dust flue out of it, as well as cries from the normally silent Dark Hoodlums. When the light faded, all the Dark Hoodlums were gone. There was a stunned silence that seemed to last forever.

"Well," Razorbeard sighed. "That was incredibly convenient. But me ship's still stuck!"

"We'll check it out," Rayman told him. "Stay here."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Razorbeard called as Rayman, Ly, and Frank walked toward the ship's stern. As they reached the end, they were met with a hole that had wooden planks in around it. Rayman looked in.

"This ship might not be moving for a while," he said, standing up. "Look for yourself." Frank and Ly looked in. Inside was a giant factory, plowing farther and farther down into the bog. At the barely-visible bottom, they could see that it was planted firmly into the ground.

"This is a problem," Frank said, standing back up. "What should we do?"

"We could always do what Rayman did with the first Hoodlum HQ," Ly suggested.

"Which was?"

"Blow up everything, barely escaping with my life," Rayman answered. Frank looked from a smiling Rayman to a relatively surprised Ly and shrugged.

"Worth a shot," he said.

* * *

Rayman, Frank, and Ly moved through the dimly-lit base.

"There has to be a Horrible Machine or something at the bottom," Rayman muttered. "That's the only thing that I really know how to bust, and the only thing I'm sure will detonate with enough force to destroy this base." As the trio continued downward, a strange pumping sound grew louder.

_Boooorw-Crrrssh! Boooorw-Crrrssh!! Boooorw-Crrrsh!! BOOORW-CRRRSSH!!!_

"That's it," Rayman said. Directly below them was a massive pump, which was making the strange sounds.

"Hey," Ly asked, "what're these?" Rayman turned and saw that she was looking at a strange mobile device with a lever, a box of explosive charges, and an odd electronic slate.

"These Hoodlums are smarter than the old ones," Frank said. "The slate is an electronic map, and from the looks of things it can tell where you are on the surface in relation to where you would be in the nether-worlds and visa-versa, meaning that you could in theory see where you would end if you drilled through the ground—"

"—or where'd you surface if you shot up!" Ly concluded. "This could be useful!" She grabbed it. "What's the other thing?"

"I don't know," Frank said. He picked it up and read the bottom. "Personal Gravity Reverser. Switches the gravity of any body it's touching after the lever is in the on position for ten seconds. Plum powered."

"We can use that to get up to the Land of the Livid Dead!" Rayman said. "Take it along!" Frank was looking at the box of charges.

"I have an idea," he picked up the box."

Moments later, blinking charges were placed about ten feet from the connection from the factory to the _Buccaneer_. Frank and Rayman were nailing a steel cover on the hatch. Ly was holding the detonator.

"With those charges...at the right distance..." Frank panted. "It should...disconnect the ship from...the factory. The factory...will be destroyed...in the water. If I'm right...this steel cover...should keep water...from rushing in here. The distance from it...to the charges...should keep it from...blowing off...or having a hole blown through it." He pounded in the last nail.

"The map should allow us to pinpoint a good location away from the islands of the Land of the Livid Dead that we can swim to," Rayman added. "And we can use the Gravity Reverser to send the _Buccaneer_ into the sky and eventually out of the clear blue waters of the Land of the Livid Dead."

"All set up back there?" Razorbeard called.

"Ready and waiting!" Ly called back. "Should I detonate the charges?"

"Light 'em up, lass!" Ly obliged, pressing the detonator. The ship shook as the explosions separated the factory. All eyes were on the steel hatch. The tense silence was unbearable, and Rayman could feel sweat on his brow. The explosions ceased. The cover had not broken.

"Excellent, mates!" Razorbeard called them to the front. "Come on up! You deserve to see our ascension!" The three came to the front, Ly carrying the Reverser, and stood around Razorbeard. Above giant windows surveying the Bog, the electronic map showed them both on the nether-world and where they would be on the surface world—about half way from the Land of the Livid Dead. Rayman, Ly, and Frank watched as Razorbeard steered the ship out of what should've been its grave and once again sail the murky seas. A short time later, the map showed that they would surface on the outskirts of the Land of the Livid Dead.

"Flip the switch!" Razorbeard cried out with enjoyment. Ly and Rayman pulled the switch to the right and then stood back. Exactly 10 seconds later, the _Buccaneer_ began rising. All four of its passengers watched in awe as the water fell away below them and was soon replaced by purple clouds. Suddenly the clouds turned progressively bluer and more dense, until the _Buccaneer_ burst through the perfect waters outside of the Land of the Livid Dead. When the group turned the ship to face their destination, however, what they found was not as utopian as they'd remembered.


	5. Complex

"Complex"

3 days after Heart detonation

The Land of the Livid Dead

The blue waters the _Buccaneer_ floated upon faded to a polluted grey as the Land of the Livid Dead fell into view. Dark blue clouds swirled around the island, barely visible in the black sky. Strange rain fell from these clouds onto the dead island, and they seemed to be eating away at it. All life and afterlife was gone from the island. The artful stone workings of the Griskins (not to mention the petrified Griskins themselves) were being slowly erased by the strange, acidic rain, showing their ugly inner stone. Whatever Rayman, Ly, and Frank had hoped to find in the Land of the Livid Dead was long gone by now, destroyed by black water.

"Aye," Razorbeard was the first to comment. "That water doesn't look healthy to be swimmin' in, if ye get me drift." No one commented on his attempt at a joke. Razorbeard sighed.

"What do we do?" Frank turned to Rayman. "Something tells me that that rain will do more than make my fur costume smell bad."

"Agreed," Ly flashed a quick smile, "and you wet is generally bad enough. Still though...I get the feeling that there is something there that we need." Rayman knew about Ly's "feelings"—generally, she was right.

"I hate to sink yer ship, mates," Razorbeard chimed in, "but not even the _Buccaneer_ can sail up to _that_ port." Frank nodded.

"And, from the looks of it," he added, "we can't exactly just row up and start exploring." Rayman, Ly, and Frank all turned away from each other, lost in their own thoughts. Razorbeard was unhappy about not being able to help, when a strange flash of light, followed by the appearance of a green thing in the back of the ship caught his eye.

"Lads," he got their attention. "What do ye suppose that is?" The three turned to look at where he was.

"Looks like a green can," Rayman said. Ly looked from Rayman to Frank and then smiled.

"That's convenient," she said. "Come on."

Moments later, Rayman, Frank, and Ly were on the Crow's Nest of the _Buccaneer_. All were clad in green and red, the colors of the Vortex Fist.

"I'm starting her rotation!" Razorbeard called through a loudspeaker. "When I go, so do you!"

"Understood!" Rayman called back. Outside, the wind from the Land of the Livid Dead was deafening, even from this distance. The ship lurched forward, and Rayman began to wind up his fist simultaneously. The ship began moving, and turned slightly almost immediately, circling the island. When Rayman's fist reached maximum speed (in rpms, of course), he swung. The force of the punch spun Rayman around, and the Vortex Fist power lived up to its name as a bright yellow tornado surged through the black seas, centering underneath one section of the storm.

Ly followed, steadying herself. Unlike Rayman or Frank, Ly didn't have anything to wind up or charge. All she had to do was focus. Ly wasn't overly confident in herself due to personal experiences while Rayman had been gone, and that was unfortunate due to the fact that she had to use a combination of her belief in herself and her hope in general in order to unleash her full power when using one of these weird cans. It could be considered a personal annoyance. Ly cleared her mind, calming herself. Then, she opened her eyes, jumped up, and did a dual-roundhouse kick. A second tornado, this one more blue in color appeared on the water resting on a different spot under the storm. By now, the mysterious rainfall had weakened considerably, due to the fact that the tornadoes were slowly separating the clouds.

Frank came last. He already knew how this worked, but he hesitated. He was reminded of his nightmare(?) that resulted from his encounter with Dark Frank. What if everything went wrong, it was all because of him? Frank's body shut down as he began considering everything that he could do wrong at this moment. As he ran through the list of possibilities, the _Buccaneer_ was moving out of position.

"Frank!" Rayman called. "Fire the last one!"

"Hello!" Ly waved a hand in front of his face. "Frank!"

Frank's mind was running through the list of horrible outcomes, and then one appeared that stopped the flow: _Miss the chance to destroy the storm and lose the Land of the Livid Dead, as well as possibly any chance of saving the world_. Frank blinked, saw what was happening, charged, and fired as he swung his guns in an "X" shape. The final tornado, an orange-brown in color flew into place. As anticipated, the clouds separated completely, and were sucked away by the tornadoes, which then disappeared. The gray water returned to its normal (although somewhat altered due to the black sky) blue color. The Land of the Livid Dead was saved, although in poor condition. Where had once been a perfect world in a perfect sea now lay a large brown rock, with decaying stone scattered upon it.

"All ashore, let's go to shore!" Razorbeard cheered over the loudspeaker. "We're haulin' in!" The ship changed course, heading for the barren island.

* * *

_At first, the robed man was impressed. Then, he remembered that his foe was no longer the ex-Hoodlum and his meddlesome Resistance, but instead Rayman, Ly, and Frank. Of course they had freed Razorbeard and the _Buccaneer_, and of course they'd dispelled his little storm. All he could do now was wait for them to meet the challenge awaiting them on the barren rock. Even they would not pass the coming one._

* * *

Upon stepping on the sad island, Rayman, Ly, and Frank immediately spilt up to look for...something that would be useful. Frank was looking at some of the stone Griskins, a surprisingly sad look on his face. Ly was looking at the few withered plants remaining on the island. Rayman walked along until he saw a rotted plum at his feet. His mind flashed back to when he was trying to get André out of Globox's stomach.

"I don't say I can't pick up a vibe just because I'm wacked out!" Globox had been saying as Rayman bounced up the bubbles he'd hiccupped as he shakily floated out of the hole they'd been in. On the other side of the long trench was a plum tree that Rayman had used to get to a Teensie cage. That Teensie opened a portal in the tower archway—

Rayman's thoughts centered on the tower. Perhaps whatever they were looking for was in there. He looked from Ly to Frank, and decided to at first check on his own. He walked further down the island, going at what he assumed was the right direction. As he walked through partially deteriorated caves, Rayman reminisced when he'd first stepped through here. Globox had drunken plum juice and had hiccupped up the ledge, leaving behind a bubble. Rayman had bounced off that bubble, freed the Griskin in the cage floating at the ceiling at the room's center. Then, he'd gone left just to see what was there, and had found a giant statue of a Teensie, smiling while forever frozen doing a step of its dance on a stone pedestal. It had been holding an urn, which poured water down to the ground below. Forgetting the situation at hand, Rayman decided to revisit that little hollow in the cave. Rayman stepped up the ledge, which had been changed into a sharply-inclined ramp due to the black rain, and went into the room.

While he should've suspected as much, Rayman was still surprised to see that room had, of course, fallen apart. Only half the urn remained, and no water flowed from it. The ground was dry, and the stone felt cold as ice, like it was dead. Parts of the Teensie the urn hadn't covered were only rough, seemingly blurry areas that were too small for the rest of the body. Parts of the once-great statue were missing completely. However small this statue had been in his journey, the sight of such a beautiful sculpture in this state of ruin and decay made Rayman realize just how dead the world really was. Saddened that the image of happiness from the cave would now be forever replaced with the one he now saw, Rayman slowly walked out of the cave, and continued on.

Not far ahead, Rayman found where the tower should've been. The amazing sight that he'd seen originally, an enormous sparkling blue tower, with strange lights shooting up towards the sky was gone, its magic having vanished what seemed like a long time ago with the Griskins. Thinking back on this, Rayman realized just how little time had passed. The Heart had only been destroyed 3 days ago, but it felt like so much longer. The world that Rayman had seen seemed as if it was but a distant childhood memory, foggy with age. Rayman shook his head to clear himself of these depressing thoughts and looked ahead again. Amazingly, the stone arch, carved with arcane symbols, still stood.

_Perhaps if I could restore power to the arch, then I could get into the _real_ tower!_ Rayman thought.

_"Free him, and we'll open up 'our world' for you,"_ the Griskin had said when Rayman had saved him a long time back. Rayman had then needed to find the Griskin's brother, who had been the one trapped in the ravine underneath that Rayman had first recalled when he'd been thinking about plums. When Rayman had freed the Griskin, he and his brother had restored power to the arch, and it had led to a larger, more complex tower, made of stone instead of energy.

"Well," Frank said, making Rayman jump. "This place is certainly depressing."

"How'd you get here?!" Rayman asked.

"We followed you, of course," Ly answered. "We saw you wander off, and didn't necessarily think it was a good idea for you to go off by yourself like that. There might be Dark Hoodlums on the island."

"Actually," Frank added, "_she_ didn't think it was a good idea. I figured you could handle yourself, but-ow!" Frank rubbed his side where Ly had elbowed him.

"About the Dark Hoodlums," Rayman thought suddenly. "Have you noticed that none of them seem to be anywhere near here? They were all over Clearleaf Forest, and they were obviously in the Bog of Murk, due to the condition of the _Buccaneer_. So where are they?"

"Maybe the rain was harmful to them, too," Frank suggested.

"Or maybe the rain was simply to keep people off the island," Ly proposed. "But, as far as I can tell, the island itself doesn't have anything overly valuable or important on it, or the rain wouldn't have been created in the first place, as there would be a strong chance that it would destroy what the Dark Hoodlums were looking for. This means that it would've had to have been something protected and activated by magic that would withstand the rain, like a door, or a portal, or—"or an arch," Rayman concluded. Frank and Ly both gave him a confused look. Rayman gritted his teeth, turned, and started running toward the arch. Ly immediately took off after him, leaving Frank at the little hill they'd been standing on.

"Why am I always the last one, now?" Frank wondered aloud, running after his two companions.

When they reached the arch, Rayman began searching for a way to activate it.

"Ly, can you open this?" he asked. Ly attempted it, but the arch sparked, made a weird sound, and went silent.

"It's not working!" Ly tried again, but the same thing happened. Frank came up last, and was watching Ly and Rayman try to open the arch. Something caught his eye, and he looked and saw a lever. There were two things that made the lever stand out: it was not fancy or economic or anything, and it wasn't decaying. Going on a hunch, Frank pulled the lever to the opposite position. There was the sound of gears turning, and the arched lit up, a light blue, whirlpool-like object in its center. Ly and Rayman both turned, around, surprised.

"The door's normally opened with magic," Frank explained, even though he'd only just figured it out himself, "but Hoodlums can't use magic. So, they used what they knew how to do, and converted the door from magic-activated to machine-activated." Rayman and Ly looked a Frank, the lever, and then at each other, and both shrugged.

"It's open, at least," Rayman said. He jumped in. Ly was jumping in before Rayman's foot was all the way through. Frank, who'd expected it this time, had jumped early, and ended up colliding with Ly. Rayman watched as the two fell through the portal. He got the sudden urge to help Ly up, and he did so. Their eyes met for a moment, and Rayman found that he didn't want to let go of Ly's hand. It felt warm and comforting against his, and he liked the feeling of how their fingers intertwined, brushing against each other's palm. Embarrassed and confused, Rayman awkwardly jerked his hand away. His face felt hot and he turned away quickly, realizing with some surprise that he was blushing. He turned his head slightly and could see Ly smiling at him, with Frank irritatingly dusting himself off in the background. Ly realized that she could see his eye watching her, and Rayman saw her eyes widen as a quick gasp escaped her. Both turned away again.

Feeling confused, strangely happy, and slightly annoyed with himself, Rayman looked toward the room that they were in (which, for he time, he hadn't even noticed; this made Rayman even more annoyed with himself), trying to focus on the task at hand. This room was the entrance to the tower, and, as Rayman had anticipated, it was still in perfect condition, meaning that the rain hadn't touched it.

"Where are the Dark Hoodlums?" Frank wondered aloud. Rayman noticed that Ly had yet to speak, and then wondered why she kept entering his thoughts. This led him to wonder whether or not there was a little Rayman persistently entering Ly's thoughts in the same fashion, and he then realized that she had once again become his primary focus. Remembering what Frank said, Rayman took a good look around.

"Good question," he muttered. "Since they aren't crawling around here, they must be absorbed in some sort of gathering." He began moving up. For one of the first times, Frank was the first to follow. Confused, the ex-Hoodlum looked behind him and saw Ly looking at the ground where she had fallen when they'd collided on the way through the portal. Frank saw Ly wordlessly raise her hand, touching it lightly with her other one. Frank felt an unexplainable pain from somewhere deep inside, a pain that involved what he'd witnessed with Ly and Rayman. When he realized what the cause was, Frank was unsure whether to be angry or saddened with himself. He walked up to Ly and tapped her on the shoulder. She flinched and turned around.

"I'd imagine Rayman would be on the third floor by now," he told her sarcastically.

"O-oh," Ly stammered, looking away. "Right. Let's go." She took off, slower than usual, leaving Frank alone again. He didn't mind this time, though. He was focusing on something else.

Rayman was waiting for them when they reached a large room. A spiral staircase clung to the wall as it ascended, ending at a ledge below, surprisingly, a very starry sky. Rayman could barely make out some dark blue shapes on the edge of the top floor.

"Looks like you were right," Frank said. "We stumbled upon the Dark Hoodlums during their council meeting." Frank's sarcastic tone was tinged with something dark. Rayman swore that he could detect a mixture of misery and spite in Frank's demeanor, something that hadn't been there before. He followed Frank up the stairs.

"You may have escaped being petrified," a familiar voice was saying as the three neared the top. Frank instinctually crouched low as he got closer, until he was just high enough to see what was going on through a gap in the Dark Hoodlums. Dark Rayman, as well as Dark Ly and Dark Frank, was there, and he was talking to—Griskins. Live Griskins.

"But luck and a little stone fort won't save you from _me_," Dark Rayman continued. He drew back his fist, wound it up, and was promptly punched by Rayman. Everyone looked up in shock, giving the Griskins time to fly out of their cornered position.

"Rayman, take this!" one of the Griskins conjured up a red can as the trio of survivors flew to safety.

"Incredible that you've made it this far," Dark Rayman quickly regained his composure. "I suppose that this means that my storm has been dispelled. Ah, well, as they say, 'try, try again.' Be seeing around, my twin."

"I'm not letting you get away!" Rayman threw another fist, which Dark Rayman countered with one of his own. Both fists ricocheted off the ground as they returned to their owners' sides. Rayman shot his other fist out at the red can, and he felt the incredible strength return from a long time ago as metal glove fell around his hands. Emblazoned with blue and red, Rayman charged toward his opponent.

"Guess that's our cue," Frank muttered, jumping out and firing on Dark Frank. Ly made an impressive leap, launching a series of midair attacks that alternative between magic and might. For the second time, a battle between identical forces raged.

Frank was unleashing all his anger and sadness in his fight. Ignoring his own safety, he fired on Dark Frank from every impossible angle. He would go in close, then jump back out, moving randomly in every direction. This approach lowered his accuracy and his cautiousness, however, and it took the significantly calmer Dark Frank one careful shot, and Frank was down. Once again, the blackness came, consuming all.

When Frank woke up, he was in the forest around the Fairy Council. Everything was burning. Frank realized that he had woken up too late, and that the Hoodlums had already begun their siege on the Fairy Council. He rushed off down a path that seemed all too familiar.

"What a strange dream," he muttered. "I wonder how long I was out?" As he continued through the forest, he swore to himself that this time, the events that he'd seen in his dream would not occur. He would not lose the Hoodlum Resistance. When Frank reached the ledge in which he'd remembered seeing his friends pinned down, he saw that something had changed. First of all, the Fairy Council was in its frozen state as it had been after the Heart had been destroyed. Second, the Hoodlums were all Dark Hoodlums. And finally, there were only two people fighting back against them: Rayman and Ly. Frank wanted to help them somehow, he had to. He then saw that he was in strange clothing, and he realized that he had somehow acquired the power to kill the Dark Hoodlums. Frank knew that he would help them. This time, he would not let others die. Frank crouched down, aimed and fired. Frank looked up after taking the shot. He had missed.

Ly, meanwhile, was only partially concentrating on her fight with her dark half. While her eyes watched Dark Ly's moves, and her body dodged and attacked, her mind was in two entirely different places. One was still back at the entrance to this strange tower. Rayman had helped her up, but she had seen a strange warmth in his eyes, greater than what he had shown, as far as she knew, to anyone before. A light which she had learned long ago was reserved for someone who was more than a friend. When Rayman had finally jerked his hand away after what had seemed like years, Ly had fought the urge to pull it back. Even now, she still wished deep down that he hadn't let go.

Her second thought was of Frank, her other companion on this strange, saddening adventure. He had changed quickly, and had become more hostile toward Ly and Rayman. Although she hadn't liked Frank at first, she had come to admire his quick grasp of understanding, as well as what seemed like an ability to take everything as it came, without reacting in any way but logic. But something had changed. This Frank was full of anger and bitterness, as if something had been eating away inside of him and he was suddenly releasing the resulting emotions. Ly could tell that it had something to do with Rayman, as well as her, but she didn't understand what. Perhaps part of her just didn't care, as well. When Ly thought this, she froze. She didn't want to look at Frank as just being a Hoodlum who happened to switch sides, but it appeared that there was a part of her that did just that. Ly wanted herself to look at Frank as another person, with thoughts and feelings. After all, Frank was her friend...wasn't he?

Ly's inner conflict gave Dark Ly an opening, and she took it. Ly was shocked back into reality as she hit the ground, black fire burning on her chest. The fire grew larger, the dark flame pushing away all the light.

Ly regained consciousness in a cage. It was fairly simple; a steel cage with a padlock on one corner, and outside...nothing. Just darkness. Ly shifted into a sitting position, wondering why she was here. After a short while, something in the darkness took shape. It grew lighter as it came closer, and eventually Ly could tell that it was Rayman. Ly found that she could not speak, so all that she did was smile at him. Rayman returned her smile wordlessly, then broke off the padlock. Unable to control herself, Ly ran out and rushed into Rayman's arms, embracing him. She closed her eyes as she hugged Rayman tighter, and she felt a cold breeze, followed by Rayman's hands on her back. But something was wrong. Rayman's hands were cold and uncomfortable, not like how they'd felt when she had held them before. Her smile fading, she opened her eyes and looked at Rayman. Gasping in horror, Ly tried to move back, but Dark Rayman pushed her closer to him, and Ly felt the blackness he emanated consume her. Dark Rayman was laughing uncontrollably as this happened, but when she looked at him, his mouth was closed. It was then that she realized that the high-pitched, insane laugh was coming from her.

Rayman, using the red can, was struggling against Dark Rayman in the same fashion as before. And, similar to the events of their last encounter, Frank fell, and then Rayman saw (in surprise), Ly freeze, and then be enveloped by black fire.

"Monster," Rayman gritted his teeth, furious at Dark Rayman. "Filthy monster!" He pushed harder, but to his surprise found that Dark Rayman was easily overpowering him.

"Tsk, tsk, Rayman," Dark Rayman smiled. "You of all people should know that good guys don't get stronger by using anger against their foes. Didn't you ever watch _Star Wars_ while on Earth?" Rayman saw his hand twist, and suddenly felt pain in his hand and shoulder. Dark Rayman kicked the injured hero to the ground. Rayman's head struck a surface too cold to be the floor, and everything went black instantly.

"Rayman!" a voice called. "Rayman wake up!" Rayman was being shaken awake by familiar hands. His eyelids fluttered as he slowly awoke. Ly had a warm smile on as she sat back.

"It figures," she joked. "The one day you're _not_ out saving the world, and you fall asleep during our picnic."

"Picnic?" Rayman echoed. "What picnic? What happened to Dark Rayman? And where's Frank?"

"Who are you talking about?" Ly asked. "You must've had an interesting dream. Was I in it?"

"Yeah," Rayman sighed. "You were a prominent character." He was certainly relieved that everything had been a dream. Considering the circumstances, he found that a part of him was happy that there was no Frank. The entire thing kind of had been his fault in the first place.

"Hey, Rayman!" Globox came charging up, his stomach bouncing along as he ran. Murphy flew beside him.

"Hey, big nose, how you been?" Murphy asked. "Honestly, it's been forever since we've seen each other. Back when Globox took off with your hands...good times, huh?" Rayman smiled remembering it all. It had been an interesting dream, but Rayman was glad that none of it had really happened.

"So like I was saying before Globox left," Murphy started talking. "I accidently fell into one of those portals andhalknrjegfneJLBFuih..." Rayman looked up, confused at what he'd just heard. He jumped away from the shock of what he saw. Murphy was melting.

"What's wrong, Raymaabhjhek," Globox began melting away as well his words falling apart before he could get them completely out. At the same time, the scenery was starting to ooze away as well. The trees began to drip, and then warm, sticky liquid fell down from them as they slowly dissolved.

"aghrnummback!" A deteriorating Ly was staggering toward Rayman, her partially liquid hand stretching toward him. Globox followed suit, and Murphy, who was now a moving puddle with lumps and colors that vaguely resembled the top half of Murphy's body, crawled toward him as well. Rayman backed away slowly, confused and afraid. The ground melted away, and eventually, Rayman fell into the abyss below.

This time, Ly was the first to awaken. She screamed as she awoke, and then realized that the strange nightmare she'd had was over. Ly's body was covered with sweat, and she was panting, as if she'd run a long distance.

_I..._she desperately tried to recover her scrambled thoughts as the images of the nightmare flashed in her mind over and over again. _No! That...that wasn't my fault! It wasn't me!_

_ "But it was," _a dark voice inside her said. _"It was your body, and your mind was fully aware of what was happening. Even when you were like that, you still had enough free will to make your own decisions. And you chose to commit those acts. Part of you really seemed to revel in it, too."_

_ That wasn't me!_ Ly argued, shutting her eyes in an attempt to block out the images from her nightmare as they were joined by more from the past. _I didn't have any control! Whatever part of me that enjoyed what I did, it...it remained in the past! It's gone now!_

_"Except that it's not," _the dark voice replied. The voice was strangely familiar. _"It's still with you. All the things that you did before Rayman came back...part of you still enjoys the memories. Part of you wants to continue where you left off."_

_That's not true!_ Ly could feel tears welling up, a result of her own thoughts. _I hated it! I hated doing all everything! He forced me to! I wasn't in my control! And besides, he's dead, and that part of me died with him. It's over. That's gone, now._

_"I don't believe it is,"_ the voice replied. _"After all, if it _was_ gone, then what part of you would you be arguing with right now?"_ As the voice said this, Ly finally recognized it as her own. And for the second time that day, Ly screamed.

Rayman was still falling. He'd lost track of his fall, because whatever melting color there had been was gone. Now, he could only feel the rush of invisible wind. All he saw was black. Somewhere far away, he could hear Ly screaming. The scream grew louder until it was deafening. Rayman closed his eyes and put his hands over his ears, and then he hit the ground.

"Ow," Rayman opened his eyes. He was face down on the floor of the Griskins' tower. Ly was curled in a ball not far from him, shaking. At first, Rayman was too dazed to react. Then his senses returned.

"Ly!" Rayman was up faster than ever before and sprinting toward Ly. When he got there he shook her vigorously.

"Ly!" he called again. "Ly, come on! Snap out of it! Ly!" Ly looked up, her eyes wide with panic and red with tears. She gave a weak smile, then, without warning, through herself into Rayman's arms, sobbing. Rayman could do little but return her hug in what seemed to him a pathetic attempt to console her.

"I don't know what happened to you," he said softly to her, "but it's all right now. It's all right."

_"It's all right."_

That was the first thing Frank heard upon waking up. Looking ahead, he could see a strange shape. At first, he couldn't tell what it was. Then, his eyes widened in shock when he realized that it was Rayman and Ly. Rayman was trying to comfort Ly, who was crying uncontrollably for some reason or other. The pain came again as Frank saw this, the unbearable pain that he'd felt ever since they'd stepped into this stupid tower. His head hurt. Frank looked on as his world fell away beneath him. What he'd felt before was true. Feeling strangely vivid emotions, Frank got up slowly and staggered down the stairs. Alone.

Ly had stopped crying, and her grip had loosened on Rayman. He gently pulled away, although Ly clung to him for a second before letting go. He then turned to where he remembered Frank had Ly.

"What?" he gasped. Ly followed his gaze and realized the same thing. For the first time in a while, she spoke.

"Where's Frank?" she asked. Rayman shook his head, a sign that he didn't know either.

"Come on," he gestured to Ly to follow him, and the two started walking down the stairs. At the bottom of the staircase, they saw Frank, shooting at a stone gate. Frank fired, looked to see if he'd caused any damage, and swore.

"Frank?" Rayman asked. Frank turned.

"You two lovebirds had enough of each other's warmth for one day?" Frank asked coldly. Rayman glared at Frank.

"What's been up with you?" he asked. "You've been acting strange ever since we got here."

"What do you care?" Frank continued firing at the door. "It looks like you and Lady Love Interest over there don't bother with anyone more than each other." Rayman was about to step in front of the gun when Ly interrupted.

"Guys," she said quietly, "something's written on the ground." There was a note scrawled underneath the door.

"Due to the damage we caused to this tower, the addition of Frank to your party now exceeds the maximum weight capacity. Sorry. –DR"

"Right on cue," Frank rolled his eyes. The ground fell away almost immediately, and Rayman, Ly, and an apathetic Frank all fell down into strange purple clouds.

As it happened, the tower was right over Razoff's mansion in the Bog of Murk. Rayman, Frank, and Ly all made three separate holes in the ceiling as they fell into the house. Rayman groaned as he sat up. Ly lay on the ground, rubbing her spine. Frank didn't move.

"At least we landed here," Rayman tried to brighten the mood. No one, however, was able to be cheered up. "I'm going to bed. See you guys tomorrow." He got up and went to where the bedding was laid out. Ly looked across at Frank, who refused to move.

"Goodnight," she said as she followed Rayman. Frank looked at the room where the beds were.

"Two of us will have a good one," he whispered to himself. "The third will be dead by the morning."

* * *

_Ly was running again. But this time, it wasn't from someone. It was after someone. Some-_ones_. She was in Clearleaf Forest, and she was chasing something. Stalking it, waiting for it to fall, so that she could pounce on it. She smiled at the thought of capturing it, brining it to its knees, and watching it beg for mercy before she severed its head from its body. Unlike the last one, this one she would do slowly. She wanted to see its pace writhing in pain, watch it scream for help and beg for mercy. Eventually she would stop playing with it, and make a clean slice. Ly's smile grew as she saw what she was going after trip and fall to the ground. As she'd planned, she leapt upon it and began to cut._

Ly awoke with a gasp. She was caked in sweat, and her breaths came out ragged and uneven. The memories had come back. Memories that she'd thought she'd locked away, so that she could pretend that nothing had happened, that she was still the Ly Rayman knew. But because of the encounter with Dark Ly, they'd come back. _It_ was still with her...inside of her. Still there...

Ly jolted and her heart rate increased as she stopped herself from laughing. She wasn't sure when she had started, but she had realized that she had been laughing as she'd thought of the memories.

_It really is true..._she thought. _I thought that _it_ had died when he did, but it's still there. And it's coming back._ She sat up, panting, and through the partially open door she saw Frank, sitting at the edge of a balcony that she suspected used to have a wall at the end of it, watching the moons. Ly got up and crept closer to him. He suddenly stood up, and Ly had to stifle a gasp. Frank bent down and jumped off the balcony, aiming for the piranha-infested waters below.

As Frank fell, he closed his eyes. It was worthless. All of it. He would be doing Rayman and Ly a favor this way. Without him, they might stand a chance...Frank opened his eyes as he felt himself stop. There was a weight on his arm, like a _hand_. Frank looked up and saw Ly holding onto his hand. She then grabbed his arm with her other hand and pulled him back up.

"Why?" Frank asked. "Why did you stop me?"

"Why did you jump?" Ly returned. Frank gave a mirthless laugh.

"Have ever heard of a 'third wheel?'" he asked her.

"What?" Ly wondered.

"Two wheels can make an object stand, and even allow it mobility," Frank explained, looking away. "But, add a third wheel, and the object loses its balance, so that no matter what you do, it falls to the ground. The object can't move, and it can't even stand without either the help of a fourth wheel, which isn't applicable in certain situations, or complete removal of the third wheel...Now, picture the object in this scenario as our group." Ly looked at Frank in surprise.

"So that's it," she discovered, "Ever since when we entered the tower, you acted strange. It was because of how Rayman and I have been paying, well...more attention to each other recently. I'm guessing that you felt left out, and that it didn't help how Dark Rayman blamed the tower collapsing on you, which made you feel like more of a burden than an aid." Frank nodded. Ly sighed.

"I'm going to tell you something that I haven't told anybody, okay?" she said. "Before Rayman came back, I...well, there was this man who appeared. He said that if we joined him, then he would help us end the reign of André and the Hoodlums. I was desperate, and I said that I would help. Well...he basically drugged us, injecting what was pretty much the essence of darkness into our bodies. I...did a lot in that time. For his personal gain, I killed, stole, burned, and destroyed whatever he told me to. This man died, though, and the darkness he'd injected into me died with him."

"What was the point of that?" Frank asked.

"My point is that everyone has problems," Ly said. "And sometimes problems in this time can make feel like a burden, an outcast, or...something else you're not. But, you're still the same person on the inside. You're _not_ a third wheel, Frank...you may not think it, but you _are_ needed for saving this world, and you're important to Rayman and me." Frank looked at Ly. After a long time, he smiled.

"Thanks," he said. "I needed that, a lot more than I first realized." He yawned. "Well, I stayed up all night last night, so it's your turn now. 'Night." He went into the other room.

"Goodnight," Ly replied. She was glad that she'd helped Frank, and she felt a little bit better, too. She'd lied of course; the darkness wasn't gone. But, maybe, it'd sunk back down to the depths of her heart. And maybe it wouldn't rise again.


	6. The Truth Within the Suns

"The Truth within the Suns"

4 days after Heart detonation

The Desert of the Knaaren

The red sand beat the trio's beige cloaks as Rayman, Frank, and Ly crossed the Desert of the Knaaren.

"I almost forgot just how dangerous this place could be," Rayman yelled over the wind, "and that was _before_ the world died." Ly had shielded her face against the sands, and Frank was up ahead, moving without any difficulty.

"Frank!" Ly called. "Slow down!"

"Sorry!" Frank ran back over, the immense heat having no effect on him. "I don't have to worry about sand blowing in my face." Ly uncovered her face long enough to shoot him a quick glare.

"Honestly," she muttered, "sometimes I think it'd be better if I was a Hoodlum like you."

"There some disadvantages," Frank said. When Rayman looked away, Frank quickly gestured between the two of them. Ly glared again, thought it over, and smiled.

"I guess so," she agreed.

"I'm going to go scout ahead," Frank told the pair. "There has to be a reason for all this wind." He then ran ahead, disappearing quickly over a sand dune. Rayman looked up and stopped. Ly saw this and stopped too and followed his gaze.

"Staring at the sun is bad for your eyes, you know," she told him in a slightly humorous voice. Rayman looked at her, worried.

"It's missing," he said.

"What's—" Ly began, but Frank suddenly came running back over the dune.

"Guys!" he called. "We have a major problem!" He then gestured for Rayman and Ly to follow him, and sprinted back over the dunes.

"He's going towards the entrance to the Knaaren caves," Rayman had the slightest tinge of worry in his voice. Disregarding the sand blowing in his face, he immediately followed. Ly gave a confused look, and then followed Rayman, her hand in front of her face.

When Ly came over the dune, she saw Rayman and Frank staring out into a large gash in the desert. As she came closer, she saw what was plaguing the desert.

"Is that a sun?" she cried out in shock.

"One of two," Rayman told her grimly. "The smaller of the two suns was missing in the sky. But…I never would've imagined that it would've plummeted into the desert like this."

Where there used to be a series of caves with an mysterious acidic pool, there was instead a much wider wound in the Desert of the Knaaren, filled entirely with a yellow, red, and black mass of fire. A strange force spewed sand out of this gash, and a mysterious, powerful wind blew in all directions, sending all of the sand outwards.

"This is a problem," Ly voiced what everyone was thinking.

"Agreed," Rayman replied. "It was doubtful the Knaaren would help us in the first place. Now it's much more likely that they're all extinct."

"We need to get down there," Frank argued, "even if it's just to check. Maybe there's something else in there that we can use."

"But how do we go through a sun?" Ly asked him. "You may not have a problem with sand, but you're certainly not fireproof."

"I spent at least a week in the Hoodlum HQ," Frank told them. "I was constantly surrounded by magma. How'd we get around that...?" Rayman thought about what Frank had said, and then remembered something involving his journey to the Hoodlum HQ.

"We go in the south way," he told his companions.

"What?" Frank and Ly asked in unison.

"When I was taking Globox to the doctor here," Rayman explained, "we came out a different way then where we came in. We can probably just go in from that direction."

"Good idea," Ly agreed. "Lead the way." Rayman nodded and began to move around the sun. Ly and Frank followed.

_The robed man meditated in his unlit chamber. His mind's eye saw Rayman converse with Ly and the Hoodlum, and then begin heading toward the other entrance to the caves._

_ "Very well," the robed man opened his eyes and stood. "Gather the troops, Dark Rayman. We're going on an...excursion."_

_ "Sir," Dark Rayman bowed and exited the room._

Rayman, Ly, and Frank snuck into the caves through the exit, rubbing the sand out of their eyes as they went in. The architecture, although weathered, hadn't changed much since Rayman's last visit.

"Was there a reason why you had to take Globox through here?" Ly asked.

"It was either journey through the caves or try to survive the blistering heat up top," Rayman replied. "We chose the colder route."

"Don't forget to add creepier," Ly was examining a particularly eerie cave drawing involving the Knaaren disemboweling their prey in a rather disturbing fashion.

"We got into some trouble," Rayman recalled, "but we left on…neutral terms." Frank was examining the other paintings. He went down the cave, disappearing for a few seconds before returning.

"You might want to see this," he told them. Expecting the worst, Rayman and Ly ran through the cave. Rayman, in the lead by far, nearly ran straight into a large pit.

"Stop!" he cautioned his companions behind him. Ly skidded to a halt and looked over Rayman's shoulder. Frank slowly walked up behind them.

"I'm relatively sure that you didn't see _this_ when you took Globox to the doctor," she almost whispered. Spanning below them was a system of bridges going into different tunnels, but that was where the similarities with the past ended. Dark Hoodlums were crawling all over the bridges, and alongside them were Dark Knaaren. Rayman and his friends watched as a group of Dark Hoodlums advanced on a Knaaren, who was backing away in terror. Suddenly, the Dark Hoodlum was upon the Knaaren, who began to scream and writhe in pain. His features blurred as his body darkened, while his eyes grew deep red. The Dark Hoodlum stood and began to walk away, and a new Dark Knaaren followed.

"We have to find Gumzie," Rayman said fiercely.

"Who's Gumzie?" Frank asked.

"The child king of the Knaaren," Rayman replied hurriedly. "His scepter is probably the only thing that can help us now." Without waiting for a response, Rayman jumped down. Frank and Ly looked at each other, and jumped after him.

"So why are the Knaaren still moving?" Ly wondered when she and Frank landed. Rayman was already sprinting down the dark tunnel.

"If I remember correctly," Frank answered, "the Knaaren are almost like the denizens of the Bog of Murk. The Heart of the World is almost like their landlord; they live on its property, but the two aren't necessarily connected any more than that. That's why the desert was affected by the Heart's destruction, but the Knaaren themselves weren't."

"But why?" Ly asked. "If they aren't creatures of the Heart, what are they from?"

"Leptys," Rayman fell into stride with his companions. "The Father of the Knaaren People. When André couldn't reach the Heart of the World to multiply, he instead turned to Leptys, a god with similar energy. He could only get to Leptys through one thing, however…"

"The scepter," Ly realized. "That's it, isn't it? You want the scepter, because you figure that if you summon Leptys here, you could ask it to restore the Heart, right?"

"Yes," Rayman said. "Also, we're still fighting André. If Leptys is on _our_ side this time, then this whole ordeal could be solved very quickly. The throne chamber should be just ahead." The trio ran into the throne room, but Rayman didn't get what he was hoping for.

"King Gumzi!" He ran over to the fallen child. Gumzi lay on the floor, a large, bubbling gash in his chest.

"Rayman?" Gumzi coughed. "The one who bested Reflux so long ago? I can't believe you've returned…" Gumzi gave a faint smile.

"No one's bested you, I see," he almost laughed.

"Gumzi, what happened?" Rayman asked.

"I did," a cold voice spoke suddenly. Gumzi looked up feebly as the others turned around. The robed man entered, an army of Dark Hoodlums and Dark Knaaren following him eagerly.

"You!" Frank pulled out his gun for what felt like the first time in a while.

"You know him?" Rayman asked.

"Yes, it was between our combined efforts that the Heart was destroyed," the man replied, a sinister smile spreading across his lips.

"Shut up!" Frank shot at the man, who simply held up his hand. The bullet instantly exploded in mid-air.

"Yes, the energy that we drew from you allowed 'Lord' André and I to fire the super laser," the man confirmed. "I really couldn't thank you enough."

"Wait," Frank muttered. "You aren't with André? You've done this all by yourself?"

"Did you honestly think that I'd _serve_ the idiot?" the robed man laughed humorlessly. "That bratty ball of fuzz was little more than a minor factor in my equation."

"Where's André?" Frank asked uncertainly. "You were with him the last time I saw you. What did you do with him?"

"Is _this_ the Lum you seek?" the robed man suddenly held up André, who had since become hideously deformed, navy blue Lum. His eyes had no pupils, and their whites had changed to a light blue. Drool hung from his mouth, which just barely moved, as if to signify that he was still alive, still being forced through his now torturous existence.

"This is what has become of your former master," the robed man sprouted an evil grin. He laughed quietly, and his soon became louder. It grew and grew, until it seemed that the entire system of tunnels was filled with the robed man's high-pitched cackle.

"Any normal man would've been destroyed in a second if they'd rebelled against André," Rayman said. "Who are you?"

"You forget quickly," the robed man laughed. "Or perhaps you're just too simpleminded to remember your oldest friend..." With a laugh, the robed man threw off his cloak. As the tan robe fell to the ground, Mr. Dark calmly stepped on it.

"Surprised?" he asked, his face dripping with vile joy.

"It's not possible," Rayman stammered. "They told me you were dead! The Teensies saw it!"

"Foolish boy," Mr. Dark chuckled. "Too trusting to think that magical _insects_ would tell a lie. No, I assure you. I'm, as you would say, 'alive and kicking.'"

"You won't be for long," Frank pulled out his gun and aimed it at Mr. Dark's head.

"When Rayman caught up to you, you ran," Ly lit a fireball. "If you were that scared of _him_, then all three of us should be able to take you easily."

"Unfortunately," Mr. Dark replied. "I did not come here to play with the urchins. I merely came for the _minnow_." Mr. Dark turned to Gumzi.

"You have no direct connection with Leptys," Mr. Dark approached the fallen king. "But your scepter is a direct channel." Mr. Dark began to reach for the scepter.

"Don't even try it!" Rayman threw out his fist, but it was quickly blocked by Dark Rayman. Dark Ly and Dark Frank followed closely behind.

"As pathetic as ever," Dark Rayman laughed. Rayman watched as Mr. Dark picked up the scepter.

"Dark Rayman," he said firmly. "I'm entrusting you to taking out the trash."

"Of course, sir," Dark Rayman bowed as Mr. Dark teleported away. Dark Rayman then turned to Rayman.

"Now," he grinned. "It's time for you to lose, yet again. This time, however, the madness I induce in your mind will never end." Once again, Dark Rayman rushed at Rayman, and the companions of both began to fight. The ceiling above cracked, and then gave way completely, as a giant sun loomed over the throne chamber.

** Sorry about how late this was. I actually forgot to upload this chapter that I finished about 3 months ago. I'm about halfway done with Chapter 7, so you guys who read my stories probably shouldn't have to wait as long. The four letters that will following this sentence isn't my initials, but it is my identifier, like what the editors do in footnotes, just so that I can no write in bold during the story so should I choose without you thinking it's commentary. CHZL**


	7. Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall

"Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall..."

4 days after Heart detonation

The Desert of the Knaaren

"Urgh!" Rayman grunted as he skidded across the stone ground. He jumped back up, ignoring the pain in his head. Dark Rayman quickly advanced again. Rayman blocked, but his enemy quickly found an opening, kicking Rayman in the stomach. As he doubled over in pain, Rayman looked over at Frank and Ly. Both of them also having a difficult time with their own counterparts. Frank was moving all over the far side of the room, shooting with surprising accuracy, but all the shots were having no effect on Dark Frank. Ly, meanwhile, was leaping around, with Dark Ly mirroring her every move. Rayman's eyes blurred slightly, so it appeared as if an orange and blue streak were jumping up and bouncing off each other. Rayman felt a fist slam into his head, followed by mildly painful thump of his body as it hit the ground again. Rayman looked up feebly, and saw both Ly and Frank get simultaneously overwhelmed.

"Unfortunately, Rayman," Dark Rayman was struggling to hold in his laughter, "there's no waking up from this nightmare!" As Dark Rayman burst out laughing, his fist turned to black and began to grow, until black covered all of Rayman's vision. Except for one little spot.

There was an intense light amidst the darkness, one that, despite its miniscule size, almost hurt Rayman's eyes. Then, the light began to grow larger. Its growth became more rapid, until it had eventually filled the entirety of Rayman's vision. Rayman was suddenly able to make out the shapes of the room, Dark Rayman, Dark Ly, and Dark Frank. Harder to see at first, Rayman also saw Frank and Ly. All of the Dark versions of the three had their hands over their ears.

"That sound!" Dark Rayman cried out, shutting his eyes. "That light! It's—it's burning me!"

_The time has come_, a calm voice echoed around the room, _for the three lights to be awakened_. Rayman thought that he could make out Lums of some sort in front of Ly, Frank, and himself.

"White Lums?" he asked himself in surprise. Suddenly, all three of the White Lums flew inside Rayman, Ly and Frank. The light and sound returned to normal simultaneously. Dark Rayman shuddered.

"Such awful light!" he growled. "I shall think more about it later. Right now, I have a hero to kill." Rayman could feel his strength suddenly returning. He allowed himself a quick glance at Ly to see if she'd gotten up. Ly was already up, much to the surprise of her opponent, and Frank was standing up as well.

"What?" Dark Rayman staggered back. "How is this possible? I'd beaten you! I'd almost broken you! Where have you found the strength to fight back?"

"Unfortunately," Rayman almost smiled. "This is one fight you're not going to win." Rayman charged, slamming his fist into Dark Rayman's cheek. Dark Rayman spiraled into the air, then bounced across the ground, finally skidding to a halt. Dark Rayman struggled to stand up. The place where Rayman had hit him had become a dark, burning red that glowed like fire. Black drops fell from the wound into the ground.

"Aggh!" Dark Rayman cried out. "My face is burning! What...what did you do to me?" Rayman looked at his hands.

"I don't know," he prepared to sprint, "but there's a whole lot more of that coming!" As Rayman ran forward he could see Ly literally going through Dark Ly. Ly's kicks were sweeping through various parts of Dark Ly's limbs, of the evil clone was rapidly deteriorating. With each kick, spurts of black liquid (presumably blood) splattered across the ground. Meanwhile, Frank was moving at blinding speed, firing off shots at near-impossible rate. Dark Frank was practically dissolving. Turning his attention back to Dark Rayman, Rayman began to pummel his foe with a flurry of punches. The black liquid flew everywhere sinking deep into the ground. Rayman heard what sounded like a cork popping, and then watched as both Dark Ly and Dark Frank were absorbed back into Dark Rayman. Swollen, burning, and dripping black blood, Dark Rayman panted in front of him.

"I don't know..." he growled. "...What kind of power you suddenly possess...But, a pair of light hands won't get you out of here alive...!" Dark Rayman seemed to chuckle, and then vanished in a cloud of shadow.

"What do you suppose he—" Ly began, but was interrupted by a deafening quake.

"What in the world?" Frank was looking ahead. "The sun! The sun's imploding!" Rayman watched as the black blood spilled by Dark Rayman and his companions was absorbed into the sun, which looked dangerously close to detonating.

"We have to go!" Rayman sprinted down the nearest hallway. Frank and Ly immediately followed.

"Where exactly are we going?" Ly yelled over a sudden, deafening roar.

"As far away from here as possible!" Rayman called back. "If that thing goes off with us anywhere in these caves, then we're—uh-oh." The chamber behind them had suddenly erupted in fire. Rayman desperately quickened his pace, but the fire was faster.

"We're toast if we don't find another way out of here!" he called back to Ly and Frank. Frank looked around, and his eyes seemed to flash.

"There!" he pointed. "A mirror!"

"What's a mirror doing—" Rayman stopped and remembered what Frank had told him. "Begoniax?"

"Exactly!" Frank replied. "We're going in now!" Frank turned suddenly and jumped into the mirror. Rayman expecting it, followed. Ly, who had never traveled via mirror before, hesitated for a moment, saw the fire, and leaped in as well.

"_My liege," Dark Rayman panted as he entered Mr. Dark's chambers._

"_Have you disposed of our foes, Dark Rayman?" Mr. Dark asked, even though he'd already predicted the answer._

"_No..." Dark Rayman replied. "A light appeared, and suddenly they were all—"_

"_A light?" Mr. Dark asked He was then silent for a long moment._

"_...That was...unexpected," he muttered. "No matter. So, you failed to stop them?"_

"_Yes, milord," Dark Rayman hung his head in disgrace. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again. Next time, I'll—"_

"_You're right," Mr. Dark interrupted. "It won't happen again...Dark Rayman, do you know how you to say 'Your fired!' in the most convincing way possible?"_

"_No, milord," Dark Rayman lifted his head slightly. Mr. Dark suddenly threw his hand out behind him. Dark Rayman gave a deafening shriek and exploded in a mass of black blood and shadow._

"_No you do."_

The Longest Shortcut

Frank landed solidly, rolling forward to a kneeling position. Rayman, having jumped in mostly right-side up (unlike Frank, who went in sideays), landed calmly on his feet. Ly kind of fell in.

"Yeah," Frank appeared to be thinking back. "I remember my first mirror travelling—I fell too, but believe, mine was way harder. Those were happier times. Yeah, André ruled the world, and he seemed immortal...but the world hadn't ended either. And I still had all of the Hoodlum Resistance..." Frank looked down for a moment.

"Um, Frank?" Rayman asked.

"Oh right," Frank turned around and promptly broke the mirror with the butt of his blunderbuss.

"What did you do that for?" Ly asked. "What if that's our only way out?"

"There are two reasons why I did that," Frank replied. "One is the fact that going back to the Desert of the Knaaren wouldn't solve anything—and yes, there are plenty of other ways out. The other reason is that it only takes a little bit of force to go into a mirror, and believe me; an exploding sun would have a little force. I'd rather not fill our only escape route with the same fire we're running from." Rayman started walking forward, and Frank and Ly followed.

"Hey..." Rayman thought back to when he first encountered André. "Isn't this The Longest Shortcut?"

"Yep," Frank replied. "All the mirrors in the world are connected via The Longest Shortcut, which is a spatial distortion in itself, because it links all of the lands together and makes traveling between them take a lot less time then it should. The Teensie's essentially built a world in between the worlds that shouldn't (and technically doesn't) exist. This makes it extremely useful to us, because it's virtually a sanctuary from any attackers."

"Why?" Ly asked. "You just said that the sun would've gotten through."

"The Longest Shortcut has a built-in, two part security system. The first part makes it hidden to the outside world; only those who already know of it know how to get into it, and very few people divulge this information. The second part, however, is that the mirrors will not admit malevolent beings. Anyone with a dark heart cannot enter a place as full of light as this."

"So we're safe here?" Ly asked.

"No," Rayman said. "Frank, I think that security system was shut off for a little..." Rayman was looking down a hole. Frank came up and gasped. The entire place was crawling with Hoodlums.

"Regular Hoodlums?" Frank cried out in surprise.

"But they all got turned into Dark Hoodlums," Ly argued. "That's impossible!"

"Wait," Rayman thought. "Only the ones that were touched by either Mr. Dark or another Dark Hoodlum were changed. These guys must've been down here since before the Apocalypse."

"But how did they..." Frank thought for a moment, and remembered something.

"The breakdown," he whispered.

"_Hoodlums have gotten into The Longest Shortcut!"_ Begoniax had said.

"The Hoodlums got in here directly before the Heart was destroyed," Frank remembered. "They sabotaged The Longest Shortcut and split me up from the rest of the Hoodlum Resistance. That was ultimately the cause of our downfall."

"They must've gotten in through there," Ly pointed to a hole in the ceiling. "I can see something up in there..."

"A time-stream?" Rayman looked up in surprise. Ly and Frank looked at him. "The things that I used to travel between worlds. It plays...strange music. Anyway, they must've jumped into different portals around the world and jumped out of the time stream over the same area. That's how they got in."

"So Mr. Dark never found any of these Hoodlums," Frank concluded. "Meaning that they have no idea what's going on in the outside world—in other words, they're hostile. Approaching them will lead a fight, like the fights...back in the old days."

"Remember back when it was that light and simple?" Rayman asked to no one in particular. "A big bad guy rose up with his army, and then someone had to take him down. Yeah, the last fight was hardly ever fair, but considering what's happened now?"—he laughed mirthlessly—"I'd take on Razorbeard, André, and Reflux all at once if I could prevent this." Ly nodded silently. Frank just stared ahead.

"The Hoodlums are blocking our only path available now," Ly said suddenly. "I think we're going to have to fight our way through."

"I've been craving a fight where the enemy actually dies normally," Frank grinned.

"What've we got to lose?" Rayman asked. He then pointed to an open-mouthed Frank. "Don't answer that." Frank closed his mouth. Rayman, Ly, and Frank gave a battle cry as they leaped over a bit of rubble they'd been hiding behind and charged toward the Hoodlum base.

"Worst. Idea. Ever," Frank stated firmly as the trio was dragged through the camp in handcuffs.

"These are the most well-trained Hoodlums I've ever seen," Rayman retaliated. "You should know from experience that they're normally nowhere _near_ this good! Besides, you were the first to support it!"

"Will you two just shut up?" Ly shouted. Rayman and Frank looked at her, surprised, then decided to obey.

"Impressive," Frank said after a while. "The architecture, although distinctly Hoodlum in how it looks, is still impressive in scale. Especially given the time they had. Who builds a city in four days?" Rayman had to agree. Animal fur (no clue where they got this from) tents lined the walls of the shining hallway, while wooden gears constantly turned upon giant wood-and-iron walls. Lifts took Hoodlums high into the air to different levels of the multi-floored structure.

"Is that a plum plantation?" Ly jerked her head in the direction of an open tent. Inside, numerous plum trees were visible, bearing both black and red plums.

"Where could they have gotten the resources for all this?" Rayman wondered aloud. The two Hoodmonger Officers carrying them shoved them onto a lift, which immediately shot up at a surprising speed.

"You can see the entire city from this height," Frank commented, surveying the large Hoodlum base—if one could call it that. From this height, the group could see that passed the iron walls, the "base" was actually a city, complete with its own economy. Shops were visible in random points throughout the streets, selling, food, plum juice, and other trinkets that had no particular use. A Hoodlum blacksmith (a Heckler without the toilet-seat gun), busily pounded away at new weaponry.

"It just occurred to me," Ly said. "That this lift is only held up by rope."

"Huh?" Frank and Rayman asked in unison.

"Look," Ly pointed to the two ropes that allowed the lift to move up and down. "Isn't there normally like a tower or beam that Hoodlum lifts have to connect to so that they don't fall?"

"Come to think of it," Rayman realized. "We were pushed onto this, meaning that it is taking as somewhere. But I don't see a single thing that goes this high. And if there was a building just at the top, we'd see its tower next to us."

"Guys," Frank looked up. "I think we've just solved that problem." The lift slowed down as a door (more of a hatch in the floor) in the small building above them opened up. The lift slowly went inside. As the trio stepped off, the lift went back down and the door in the floor closed.

The group looked around. They were in giant tent with a wooden floor, chairs, a table, and a bed. Windows let light into the room, but only enough to make it to where they could just barely see the entire room.

"Welcome," an old voice greeted. "Please have a seat. Anywhere."

"Who are you?" Rayman asked. "What do you want?"

"I said _sit_."

Before Rayman knew it, he was sitting on the floor.

"How'd he do that?" Frank asked. Ly shrugged. Slowly, a Hoodoo faded into existence.

"Hello," the Hoodoo bowed slightly. "My name is...um...hold on a moment...oh, blast it! Just call me...oh, I don't know, Ben."

"Ben?" Ly echoed. Rayman just dismissed it.

"I hear that you three tried to attack for no particular reason," Ben accused.

Before Rayman could deny it, Frank said, "Sounds about right."

"Why?"

"We figured that you didn't know about the situation involving the outside world," Ly said before Frank could say something else. "We thought that you would still be following André's orders and try to kill us."

"Oh, yes," Ben looked away. "The situation outside. A shame about what happened to Lord André, but these things happen. I am the new leader of the Hoodlums, and I do detest what Mr. Dark has done to the world."

"So then you'll help us defeat him?" Rayman asked hopefully.

"Are you nuts?" Ben laughed. "As good as my Hoodlums are, they'd all be dead in three minutes!"

"A big help you are," Frank muttered. "Can you at least get us out of here?"

"If you go there would be trouble," Ben argued.

"But if we stay it would doubled," Ly countered.

"Ben, you've got to let us know," Rayman pressed.

"Do we stay or can we go?" Frank finished.

"Alright fine," Ben sighed. "You young people..." He made a portal and pointed to it.

"It's a random mirror," he told the three. "I have no idea where you'll end up. Just know that." He then pulled out a waiver. "Sign this saying that I'm not liable for any injury that may occur in using this portal." The three looked at Ben.

"Oh, fine just get going!" Ben shoved them through the portal one by one.

And one by one, Rayman, Ly, and Frank all fell into a mass of robo-pirates on the _Buccaneer_.

**Chapter 7 is finally done! You have no idea how long I've been working on this. It's taken forever, but I'm finished with it! The last few chapters should be pretty easy to write, as I have most of this all planned out in my head, so you can expect them soon! CHZL**


	8. Low Summit

"Low Summit"

5 days after Heart detonation

_Buccaneer_

"Ahoy, mates!" Razorbeard, looking significantly cleaner than the last time they'd met, came up to them happily. "How goes the whole savin' the world thing?"

"Not too good," Rayman got up, dusting himself off.

"Our real enemy is Mr. Dark," Ly told Razorbeard, who flinched a little. A tense murmur ran through the robo-pirate crowd.

"Mr. Dark, hmm?" Razorbeard folded his arms. "He be a dangerous enemy, Rayman. He..._that_...is no mortal foe. It's pure evil. Going after him now, with his full power, is suicide. Are you sure that ye be up to this, Rayman?"

"Unfortunately, we no longer have much of a choice," Frank interrupted. "Are you familiar with Leptys, the god of the Knaaren?"

"Aye."

"Mr. Dark killed Gumzi and stole the Staff of Leptys," Ly told Razorbeard. "We believe he plans to summon the god once again."

"Well," Razorbeard scratched at his buzzsaw-bearded chin. "This is a problem. If Mr. Dark successfully summons the Leptys, there certainly won't be seas to sail, nor lands to plunder! I suppose that I have no choice but to let ye drag me back into this once more—very well. Where d'ye suppose Mr. Dark be headin'?"

"The Summit Beyond the Clouds," Rayman answered. "The place where André had his base of operations. Mr. Dark will probably utilize the Dark Hoodlums to aid in summoning the Leptys somehow."

"Aye, that makes sense," Razorbeard turned to his men. "Boys...we're headin' north!" There was a cheer among the robo-pirates as they all went to work on the ship, which immediately began moving.

"Razorbeard," Ly tapped the admiral on his steel shoulder. "There's something else you should see."

"Something else, lass?" Razorbeard turned around. Ly nodded to Rayman and Frank, and all three concentrated for a second. A light began to emanate from all three of them.

"Well now," Razorbeard mused. "That is certainly somethin'!"

"It's the power we used to defeat Dark Rayman," Ly explained. "We can probably fight the Dark Hoodlums with it."

"And how'd ye get this power?" Razorbeard asked.

"Don't know," Frank answered. "We just got it."

"Ah well," Razorbeard shrugged. "Was hopin' to get a little bit of fancy glowin' power for meself..."

The voyage across the sea went smoothly. The new robo-pirates were actually very friendly towards the group, thanks to the fact that Razorbeard was no longer an enemy, and were also quite talkative. After a time, Rayman and the others fell asleep. It wasn't long however, before they were woken up by a robo-pirate.

"Mr. Dark knew we were coming! There's an armada of Dark Hoodlums of the coast of the Summit! Admiral Razorbeard ordered me to get you three safely onto the mountain—quickly, we need to go!" Rayman helped up Ly, who grabbed a slightly groggy Frank, and the three quickly followed the robo-pirate. The ship was a flaming warzone around them; Dark Hoodlums were actually engaged in combat, and were quickly defeating and dismembering the robo-pirates. Rayman couldn't help but watch as the Dark Hoodlums acrobatically flipped and twirled through the air, tearing through steel with their bare hands (technically they were gloves, but you get the idea).

"They aren't even using their guns," Ly stammered.

"Why can't I do that?" Frank complained.

"Quickly now—we have toooaaaarrrgh!" the trio's robo-pirate guide was suddenly torn in two by a Dark Hoodlum.

"Perfect—out of our way!" Rayman shot his light-imbued fist through the Dark Hoodlum, then watched it dissolve. "Keep moving! There have to be life boats here somewhere!" Rayman continued running, desperately trying to blot out the images surrounding him. As the three ran to an empty corridor of dead robots, he stopped running.

"Why...?" he asked to no one. "Why did it come to this? Why did Mr. Dark return? _How_ did he?"

"We have a problem," Frank pointed to the ground. Strange, black tentacles were "repairing" the robo-pirates, who's eyes were relighting. However, as they staggered and stood up, the color darkened; they're "clothing" became dark blue as the steel skin turned black.

"The Dark Hoodlums can turn these guys too?" Ly backed up against the wall. The turned robo-pirates shuffled forward, like mechanical zombies.

"This isn't good," Rayman threw out his fist, destroying one of the robo-pirates. But more and more of the dead were rising. "We have to get out of here!" Frank, seeing to life boats, decided to imporvise. Shooting the side of the ship, he tore off several pieces of wood, and, using bolts from not-yet-resurrected robo-pirates, made a makeshift canoe.

"We're leaving," he told the others, who nodded. Destroying more of the side of the ship, the trio boarded the boat and pushed themselves out into the water.

"Oh yeah," Frank looked around. "I forgot about a paddle." Rayman and Ly had just enough time to give Frank a semi-comical glare before the _Buccaneer_ exploded, rocketing them through the water, halfway to the other side of the island.

"What...what just happened?" Ly asked in shock.

"It can't be," Rayman looked at the place where the massive ship literally had just been. Now there was nothing but wood, blue fur, and metal falling from the sky. "Razorbeard...all the crew...they're all dead?"

"...We have an oar," Frank picked up a piece of driftwood. "Mr. Dark probably thinks we're dead, even if he didn't before. Let's get to the far side of the island and onto the mountain." Silently, the group rowed their way to the backside of the Summit, until they finally stepped onto shore.

By the time the three stepped (or fell) onto the snowy island, the fire from the floating debris of the ship had died. Furthermore, looking up, Rayman could see that they had stepped onto what had become a blizzard floating on the cold sea. Above them, snow spiraled wildly, buffeting the faded-white mountainside as if attacking it. Slowly, the three stood up.

"André had Hoodlum HQ _here_?" Ly looked at the blizzard in surprise.

"The last time I was here the weather was clear," Rayman said. "Back then, this place was incredible. I came at the perfect time—sunset. The view was spectacular."

"That's how it normally is," Frank replied. "I remember from back when I was with the Hoodlums. Yeah, it got cold, but it was never _this_ bad. This blizzard is unnatural."

"Do you think..." Ly paused, looking at the snowy ground beneath their feet. "No—what if the blizzard was artificially created to hide something? Something that was too big and obvious—something vital to Mr. Dark's plans? Like...a tower or something?"

"That could be the case," Rayman nodded. "Mr. Dark could've somehow created this to hide his base."

"That makes no sense," Frank argued. "The old Hoodlum base was built into the mountain, because it was actually a dormant volcano, and the Hoodlums needed the magma to forge all of their materials. André, predictable and habit-forming as he was, would've rebuilt it. Mr. Dark would be using that. There must be another reason..."

As if on cue, Rayman felt the ground begin shaking. The rumbling grew in magnitude, until snow was cascading off now visible cliffs in the mountain's sides. Rayman looked up and could just barely see what looked like a giant pressure gauge above the mountain. Its needle was vibrating at as deep into the "red" section as possible.

"Get down!" Rayman grabbed Frank and Ly, shoving them back to the ground. The rumbling stopped for an instant. Rayman looked up and just barely made out what appeared to be a giant, dark blue Hoodmonger blunderbuss diagonally welded onto the mountain, so that its barrel was pointed to the heavens. Suddenly, there was a deafening sound, like metal being pushed upon metal at blinding speed. It was immediately followed by what could only be described as an abnormally close clap of thunder, and Rayman, Ly, and Frank saw a gigantic white laser erupt from the giant blunderbuss, tear through the wild snow into the barely-visible black sky, causing the mountain to tremor violently, as if it would collapse at any moment. The end of the white laser came literally a full minute later, and the trio watched it vanish into the darkness beyond the snow in silence.

"It's identical to the laser that hit the Fairy Council," Ly was the first to stand again. "You don't think that it's been firing this whole time?"

"It builds up pressure automatically," Frank analyzed. "And then fires a concentrated burst of energy. Yes...this whole time, Mr. Dark has been bombing the world. We've just never seen it until now."

"That's what the blizzard's hiding, then," Rayman realized. "A weapon of that size would've been easy to find. Survivors could've tracked the blasts, and the obvious answer would be the giant gun strapped to the side of a mountain. But thanks to the angle, and by using the blizzard as cover, the blasts could've come from anywhere. And thanks to the state that the world is in right now, anyone still moving would've believed that this is what happens to the Summit when the Heart dies. It's perfect." The three stared at the now-hidden weapon in awe for another minute in silence.

"It's getting colder," Ly said finally. "We need to find somewhere to rest."

"Agreed," Frank nodded. "And when I'm asking for a break, you know it's bad."

"I remember from the last time I was here," Rayman told his companions, "that this mountain is dotted with small ice caves. They're shelter from the wind—we can stay in one of them." Several minutes later, Rayman, Ly, and Frank all sat around a pitiful but welcome fire.

"Let's be honest," Frank began, "we'll never be able to climb up the Summit and find a way into the base with these conditions. You two would never make it."

"Oh thanks!" Ly replied. Frank gave her a "you know I'm right" look.

"Anyway," Frank continued. "I learned about a system of tunnels that go around the outer edges of the mountain—in other words, they go into the mountain but not far enough into it to where we'll end up running from magma again. If we follow the right ones, we'll stay out of the cold and make our way up to the entrance."

"Sounds good," Rayman agreed. "Where's the first one?"

"I don't know," Frank shrugged. "This was just a rumor running through the Hoodlum base. A few of the other rookies were worried that you might try to use these tunnels to get in. I don't even know if they're real."

"So," Ly said, "why'd you tell us this then?"

"Just proposing an idea," Frank defended. "Granted, it's an idea that may or may not even have a bit of truth in it, but hey!" He got up and walked over to the farthest-in wall. "For all we know it right past here, and we just have to give it a little whack in order to break the ice hiding it." To demonstrate, he hit the section of ice. Surprisingly, it caved in, revealing a large chamber inside the mountain.

"Well," Frank looked at the discovery he'd made. "Look at that. Those idiots were right." He then jumped through the whole in the ice. Rayman and Ly looked at each other, shrugged, and followed.

The fairly roomy chamber inside was filled with what resembled cave paintings, only they were etched in ice instead of being painted on rock. The first showed three figures that appeared to be glowing. Next to them was one figure that had been "filled" in by carving out the inside of the outline.

The second picture showed the three figures destroying (for lack of a better word) the filled-in figure.

The third picture showed the three figures and a pedestal. Two of the figures were next to the pedestal, but when was standing on top of it.

The fourth picture showed the figure on the pedestal blowing up.

The final picture showed the last two figures standing next to the pedestal, which now had a large fire in it. The two figures appeared to be celebrating.

"What does it mean?" Rayman wondered aloud.

"Hey," Frank looked at the pictures carefully, "doesn't the pedestal thing look...familiar?"

"They're instructions," Ly realized, "on how to relight the Heart of the World."

"Huh?" Frank and Rayman said in unison.

"The three glowing figures," Ly pointed to each in turn. "Remember how we got that light that destroyed Dark Rayman? And then one of them steps onto that pedestal and it looks like he's exploding. He's sacrificing himself. In the last one, the last two figures are happy because the Heart of the World has been...relit by the other figure. One of us has to _become_ the Heart for the world to be restored."

"Does that mean that the previous Heart was someone else?" Frank asked.

"I'd say so," Rayman replied. Stiff silence hung in the chamber as the group thought about what they'd just learned.

"Come on," Rayman began walking toward the tunnel that was heading up. "We need to end this. We'll worry about the rest later."

Progress was slow but evident as the three gradually made their way through the complex tunnel system. Every now and then the tunnels would grow unusually warm, and the ice would become thin and purple, telling the group that they were straying too close to the magma. After what felt like an eternity, Rayman looked above and saw only an exit. Outside no snow blew.

"It looks like we're at the top," he said. With renewed strength, Rayman, Frank, and Ly exited the tunnels. The first thing they saw was the underside of the oversized blunderbuss barrel. The first thing that they noticed was rumbling coming from below the mountain.

"He guys," Frank pointed to the ground. "We have a problem." The ground clearly showed that the laser traveled along it for quite a distance. Too far to run with the time they had.

"Good thing I saved this driftwood," Frank pulled out a few planks. "It'll make good snowboards."

"Why did you," Ly began. The rumbling became more evident. "Nevermind. Let's go!" The three had soon kicked off and were racing along the mountain, which soon arced down, providing what could've been a nice view.

"Alright we're out of the laser's fire," Rayman told the other two.

"Yeah," Frank replied. "But not there's!" He pointed to a bunch of Dark Hoodlums who now riding snowboards behind them.

"Seriously?" Rayman went low, gaining more speed. The others followed suit. Gunshots were soon audible behind them. Rayman twisted in oddly fluid motions as the bullets whizzed past him. Frank was actually snowing backwards and returning fire. The light upgrading his shots, he was actually killing several of the Dark Hoodlums. Suddenly the outside world vanished as the entered a small ice cave. Then they were back outside and falling.

"Whoa!" Rayman flipped over and tried to steer himself closer to the mountain. Amazingly, it worked, and he, Ly, and Frank all slid down the side of the mountain as it gradually flattened out.

"Up ahead!" Ly called. "I can see a hole!"

"That's our way in!" Frank replied. As he came up upon it, he jumped off his piece of wood and fell into the hole. Ly gracefully flipped in, and Rayman finally skidded in, still on his board.

The Hoodlum HQ looked remarkably similar to how it had looked when Rayman had destroyed it not too long ago. The only difference was that it was completely empty.

"That's weird," Rayman looked around. "It was heavily guarded. Where is everyone."

"Could we have the wrong location?" Ly asked.

"He can't be anywhere else!" Rayman slammed his fist into a crate. "We can't have gone this far in vain! Razorbeard can't have died just to lead us to a dead end!"

"Indeed he didn't," Mr. Dark's voice echoed around the trio. "You were correct. You were just too late." A shadow suddenly appeared in front of Rayman. Features formed, and it became evident that it was Mr. Dark, but something had changed. He was even _darker_, if that was possible.

"I summoned the Leptys," Mr. Dark told Rayman. "And I promptly bested him and corrupted him. And then, I moved. It is from my new location that I will destroy Polokus and reshape the world as its new undisputed emperor and god."

"Like we'll let you get away with that!" Frank fired a shot at Mr. Dark, who caught it. The white bullet darkened in color and vanished.

"That little power of yours may have worked before," Mr. Dark laughed. "But now it barely even tickles." He suddenly threw up his hand. Darkness began swirling around it.

"Come!" he shouted. "Face me at the top of the place where it all began!" Darkness expanded from Mr. Dark's hand, and Rayman lost consciousness.

Rayman woke up next to Ly and Frank. Dead mushrooms, flowers, and trees surrounded them all. In front of them was a dried up lake, with what were once little islets. Rayman looked on and gasped. There was the Fairy Council, still frozen in the moment of its collapse, the petrified Teensies surrounding it, holding up a nonexistent barrier. However, one thing was new: rising out of the center of the Fairy Council was a new tower, one that emanated pure evil. It rose higher than Rayman could follow it, but he could see silhouetted against the larger of the two now-red moons. Rayman then looked down and saw that a message was written in what could only be described as liquid darkness.

_WELCOME RAYMAN,_

_TO MY TOWER OF RUIN_

**Two more chapters left! I updated my profile and I answered a common question that I've been getting, so you people reading this should check it out. It also has a few other things that some people may be interested in. Anyway, be sure to review. Nobody does! I can't stress "review" enough. Seriously. CHZL**


	9. Ascension to Madness

"Ascension to Madness"

6 days after Heart detonation

The Fairy Council/Tower of Ruin

It seemed so far way, but Rayman could still feel an awful presence from the Tower of Ruin. It was eerily straight, rising impossibly high into the air, a strange black line cutting through the larger of two red moons. By that point, it had become little more than a silhouette; further down, Rayman could just barely see the Tower for what it really was. In the minimal light, Rayman could make out it's strange, jagged design, looking as if it was an embodiment of insanity itself. Black seemed to mix with something darker, forming strange colors that twisted and hooked across the cylindrical structure.

It was from this building, which looked like the physical representation of its maker's mind, that an aura emerged. Within this aura was no physical, or even noticeable damage. Instead, all that came was a feeling; an indescribable emotion that Rayman suddenly felt and he knew the others felt. It was then that he identified the emotion: Fear. This was suddenly followed by other, stronger emotions:

Rage.

Sorrow.

Hate.

Malice.

Glee.

Desire.

These emotions mixed and snowballed, forming a cacophony of thoughts that made Rayman's head pound. The pounding grew in his head, until Rayman couldn't hear his real thoughts over the madness. He fell to the ground, his hands clutching his head writhing, begging the voices to just leave him alone…

A thump to the back of his head awoke him. Rayman rolled over and saw Frank and Ly staring down at him.

"Evidently you just felt something neither of us did," Frank flipped his blunderbuss back around, pointing the barrel at the Tower. "I'd imagine that it came from Mr. Dark's little renovation to the Fairy Council." Standing up, Rayman nodded silently. Neither of them had felt it? Did that mean that Mr. Dark had sent that out especially for him? Or were both Frank and Ly just lying to him? If the latter was the case, _why_? Turning these thoughts over in his mind, Rayman led his friends down the hill they were standing on, and into the Tower of Ruin.

FLOOR 1

Upon entering, the doors slammed shut behind the trio.

"Rayman," Mr. Dark's voice echoed throughout the room, "Ly, Frank. I welcome you, to my humble home; my Tower of Ruin; my structure of pain, anger, fear, and destruction. Alas, you are much too late—in just twenty minutes, I will be a _god_. Rayman, this is a race against time—but I like fair_er_ fights, so I'll help you try to win. I built this tower with 100 floors, to make sure that nobody could make it to the top. But then, I thought, 'Where's the fun in that? I'll test them.' You will be tested in floors 20, 40, 60, and 80. If you get to the top, I'll reward you with an instant for you to bask in my power and beg for mercy. Good luck Rayman, Ly, and Frank!"

"He really is insane," Ly shuddered, "where someone like André would kill us as quickly as possible, he instead toys with us. I don't think he really even cares if we make it or not."

"Well then," Rayman replied, "we'll have to make him care." Rayman stepped through the portal on the other side of the room. Frank and Ly followed, almost hesitantly.

FLOOR 20

Rayman didn't know if it was the giant lily pads, the bizarre, swampy water, or the giant, black mosquito staring him down, but he knew where he was. This was good, because no one else did.

"I've never seen a room covered in plants before," Frank looked around. "Are we even in the Tower anymore? Mr. Dark could've used a portal to move us somewhere…"

"Judging by the strange magical energy in this room," Ly touched one of the trees, "we're still within the Tower. However, this room was made _upon_ our entry."

"Um…" Frank scratched his head. "What? That's impossible."

"Mr. Dark has filled this Tower with magical energy," Ly explained, "so that each floor is changed depending on who enters it. He must be drawing this image from a mixture of his memories and someone else's. It's not mine, and, judging by your reaction to this room, it's not from your memories either, Frank. Rayman, is he using your memories?"

"I'd say so," Rayman replied. "This is the Dream Forest. I remember going through it when I was originally fighting Mr. Dark. He'd put a monster at the end"—he pointed to the large black bug hovering angrily above him—"named Moskito…who looks a little different from when I last beat him." As if to confirm this, Moskito stuck out his long, pointed nose, shooting a thin beam of darkness at the group.

"Could he do that before?" Frank asked, dodging to the side and shooting at Moskito. Rayman simply shook his head and shot his fist at the bug. Moskito barrel-rolled to the side, dodging both Frank's bullet and Rayman's fist, but was subsequently hit by fireball from Ly. Rayman flashed a thankful smile at Ly, who had just enough time to respond with one of her own before dodging a second beam. Using this system, the group slowly whittled away at the black Moskito, until finally, with one last punch from Rayman, it fell to the ground and dissolved into black liquid.

"So Mr. Dark is pulling out your memories of your first encounter with him and using them as tests?" Ly asked.

"Looks like it, only he's morphed them even further," Rayman confirmed. "The original Moskito couldn't control darkness like that. Furthermore, he used to be purple."

"Doesn't matter as long as they're easy to beat, right?" Frank flipped his blunderbuss around in his hand. "Warped or not, 'Moskito' wasn't exactly strong."

"They got stronger as I moved on," Rayman replied. "It won't be this easy for the next one."

"Who _is_ our next enemy then?" Ly asked. "Knowing about a foe before facing them helps things."

"Um…" Rayman scratched his head. "That's weird…I don't remember. Come to think of it, until I _saw_ Moskito, I'd completely forgotten about him, as well as the Dream Forest."

"So Mr. Dark is stealing your memories?"

"Maybe," Rayman looked towards the door. "Let's go."

FLOOR 40

Upon entering the room, Rayman was greeted with a loud blast of noise. After his head cleared, Rayman looked in front of him and saw a giant saxophone, compete with floating hands and feet. Slowly, memory returned to him, and he recalled Mr. Sax, of Band Land. True to memory, Rayman was on a musical staff, and around him he could see notes and instruments of all kinds.

Seeing a large black dot out of the corner of his eye hurtling towards him, Rayman jumped to the side, watching the grinning eighth note bounce away, almost hitting Frank as he walked in through the door (which looked decidedly out-of-place, simply sitting on the musical staff). Ly, walking in after Frank, kicked the note, and watched it fly out a few feet and then plummet into the dark, stormy clouds below.

"That's quite a drop," Frank cautiously sidestepped another note, "do you remember where we are now, Rayman?"

"Yeah," Rayman threw his fist at a half note, watching it bounce back and off the staff, "but it used to be sunny here. I don't remember storm clouds." Lightning suddenly flashed as the wind began to pick up. A little more than a minute later there was a thunder clap.

"It's starting to get windy," Ly muttered. "...This whole thing feels...predetermined."

"Well he obviously placed the giant saxophone here as a guard," Frank replied, firing on Mr. Sax.

"Not that!" Ly shot some fire of her own. "I mean the clouds, the wind, the lightning..." The lightning flashed again. This time, however, the thunder came at exactly a minute. The wind speed increased a little more, and clouds began to let loose a few stray raindrops.

"Ly's right," Rayman jumped, landing several hits on Mr. Sax, "this weather isn't a random event." The lightning flashed again, and thunder followed after 45 seconds. It began to rain as the wind blew harder still.

"The ground's getting slippery!"Frank knelt down, trying to get a more stable base.

"That's it!" Ly gasped. "Rayman, as the lightning gets closer, it rains harder, which makes the ground slippery. At the same time, the wind speed increases, making it harder to stay in one spot. With a slippery enough ground and strong enough wind, we'll be blown right off the staff!" Rayman's eyes widened. Of course, Ly was right; Rayman remembered that Mr. Sax could sustain a lot of damage, and at the rate the lightning had been flashing, there wouldn't be enough time to defeat him, even if Rayman, Frank, and Ly all landed critical blows on the evil instrument one after another. It was a no-win situation.

_But wait..._Rayman thought. _Mr. Dark is hoping for us to reach the top. He's testing us, and he's hoping we pass. If we are to pass, then there has to be a way to defeat everything he throws at us. Therefore, this can't be a no-win situation._ Then Rayman noticed that Mr. Sax hadn't moved throughout the entire fight.

"Guys!" he called as lightning flashed again, thunder following just 30 seconds after. "Mr. Sax can't move for some reason!" Rain poured down upon the group as the dodged the never-ending notes while struggling against gale force winds.

"If he can't move, it means he's not supposed to!" Frank yelled over the wind. "Let's break his root!"

"This had better work!" Ly replied. "Any longer and we'll be fighting in a hurricane!" Lightning flashed again, so close it temporarily blinded Rayman, and thunder followed a mere 10 seconds after. The wind started to swirl, and the rain subsequently began to go sideways. Ignoring it as best he could, Rayman shot his _foot_ out, attempting to kick Mr. Sax's feet out from under him. However, his foot hit Mr. Sax's, and although Rayman felt the impact, didn't budge the shoe of the giant saxophone.

"It's no good!" Rayman shouted. "I can't move him!"

"Maybe _we_ can!" Ly replied. "We all need to hit his foot at the same angle and the same time! That's our last shot!" Rayman smiled and Frank nodded.

"1...2...3!" Frank jumped to the side and fired at Mr. Sax's shoe. At the same time, Ly launched a fireball, altered to curve to match the trajectory of Frank's bullet, while Rayman kicked again, lining up his foot with Ly's fire. All three attacks hit at the same time, and sure enough, As the lightning flashed once more (followed by thunder 5 seconds later), Mr. Sax fell, hitting the staff with a thud. As the winds formed into a tornado, Mr. Sax was immediately swept away, vanishing within the clouds. Just as Rayman was about to fly off the staff as well, the wind settled, and the rain slowly stopped. The clouds suddenly opened, giving the group a clear view of the Tower of Ruin.

"We weren't inside the Tower?" Rayman asked, confused.

"I thought so," Ly touched the musical staff with her left hand. "Back in the Dream Forest, I remembered a strange magical energy in the I saw how the door was placed on the musical staff, my suspicions were confirmed-we were never really in the Tower after we left the first floor. The 'doors' are really just disguised short-range portals, probably leading to small worlds that Mr. Dark has made around the Tower of Ruin. I'd imagine that these worlds spiral upwards around the Tower, so that the last one can lead to the roof. The Tower itself is probably just a solid pillar with a hollow bottom."

Looking out upon the dark sky that was now so familiar, yet still so unnatural, Rayman could make out small, floating islands around the Tower, which were probably, as Ly had predicted, the other worlds Mr. Dark had created. Rayman also noticed that each world was just a little bit closer to the Tower than before-as if Mr. Dark had been running out of magic, and had had to use shorter distance portals that more he made.

"Is there any way to skip his test and jump straight to the top?" Frank asked. "Now that we know that we aren't in the Tower, can't we just leave and find an easier way up to him?" Ly thought briefly, and then threw a fireball towards the Tower. About 45 meters from where she was standing, the fire ball exploded suddenly, and an invisible, curved wall shimmered for a second or two.

"It's no good," Ly answered. "Mr. Dark's put up a multi-layered barrier in between the worlds he made and the Tower that only the portals can move through. It probably excluded the bottom floor so that he could get us into his proverbial web. The only way to him is to beat his game."

"Onward and upward then," Rayman sighed and went to the door Mr. Sax had been standing in front of (he assumed this was the case, because he only remembered seeing the door that the trio had come from), and went in.

FLOOR 60

Evidently Mr. Dark heard Frank's idea of going back down and finding another way up, because as soon as the three were standing in front of the mass of rock known as Mr. Stone, their enemy promptly crushed the door they'd come from under a sizable boulder.

"Mr. Dark has this thing about making his allies a lot larger than his enemies, huh?" Ly mused. Rayman just nodded. Mr. Stone then jumped away, landing atop a large mountain, and Rayman noticed that several meters below him was the door. Mr. Stone sent his boulder of a fist into the mountain. The peak cracked, glowed briefly, and then shot crimson lava at the sky. The lava fell back to the mountain and began to ooze down it-heading directly for the door of course.

"So he's planning to trap us here, huh?" Ly grinned. "For once an easy one." Instantly, she sprinted away. Rayman and Frank looked at each other. Each was marveling at each other's bizarre expression when a rock fell in between them.

"I know I can't run fast enough to get to the door," Frank sighed. Rayman looked at the rock.

"No," he agreed. "At least, not by _running_..."

As the next boulder from Mr. Stone came flying in, Frank ran forward and jumped on top of it. A second later, Rayman, who'd been winding up his fist, let fly as powerful an attack as he could muster. Incredibly, he struck the rock in just the right place with just enough force for it to propelled back the way it'd come. Anticipating this, Rayman shot out his other hand and grabbed onto the rock, which was now carrying both him and Frank to the door.

Rayman wasn't sure which was more impressive: how long Ly could sprint, or how, even atop a rock hurtling through the air at blinding speed, Rayman and Frank still didn't catch up to her. Rayman just barely saw her foot go through the door as he and Frank jumped off their rock.

"No wonder I had trouble chasing her down five days ago," Frank muttered, following Ly. Just as it was beginning to catch on fire, Rayman jumped through the portal.

FLOOR 80

Unlike the last few times, no fight started upon the entrance into Picture City. This was because the area had a good view of the Tower and the Blue Mountains area Rayman had just escaped from. Normally, this wouldn't be a valid reason for the fight being delayed, but something unusual happened; namely, the Blue Mountains exploded. Despite her directives, Space Mama stopped to watch the world linked to hers spontaneously combust.

"Well that was random," Frank crossed his arms, confused.

"My guess," Ly scratched her head thoughtfully, "is that the doors act as conduits for Mr. Dark's energy. When both of them are destroyed, the world he created have no more of his energy, and thus no more life force. As a result, the world exploded."

"Um, Ly?" Rayman brushed his hair back worriedly. "Wasn't the Heart of the World _this_ world's life force?" Ly's eyes widened.

"Evidently it takes a longer time with a larger body," Frank declared. "Otherwise we'd all be space soot." Suddenly, a laser burned a small hole in the ground. The trio turned in surprise and quickly remembered Space Mama.

"Looks like someone still has that 'space soot' plan in mind," Ly formed a fireball. "I think I'm willing to give it a shot too." Space Mama's eyes widened, just before they were incinerated with the rest of her.

"Space are flammable," Rayman shrugged. "Who knew?" Frank chuckled and went through the door.

FLOOR 100

"This isn't right," Ly looked around. "We should've gone to one other area, and _then_ gotten to the roof."

"Yes," Mr. Dark seemed to rise from a black spot on the floor, "but I got bored. I was simply _dying_ to show you my new toy. Maybe...I'll even let you play with it!" Holding up Gumzi's staff, Mr. Dark revealed the Leptys, now a sickly blue color.

"He..." Rayman backed up in shock. "He got control over a _god_..."

"Oh that's not all!" Mr. Dark cackled. "I learned something even more exciting!" His form shifted and blurred, and then flew up into the Leptys, which subsequently vanished.

Silence filled the air. after an eternity of tense waiting, the air crackled and roared as a giant, black eagle with glowing red eyes appeared in front of the group. A silhouette of Mr. Dark burst out from below the eagle's left eye, contrasting against the red.

"Rayman!" Mr. Dark's voice was joined by the voices of Teensies and Knaaren, making it sound insane and evil. "Your quest ends here!" Rayman looked at his two friends, clenched his fists, and smiled.

**One more chapter to go! Hooray for the climax and...stuff. So I'm just about done with Apocalypse (finally, right?), and I can tell you one person dies in the end. The death is important, and they reappear in two stories after this, so you'll see more of them-quite soon actually, as one of the stories is The Deceased, which I'll be switching to after I wrap up this one. Keep on reading and reviewing! CHZL**


	10. Settling::The Two Moons Above

"Settling"

6 days after Heart detonation

The Pinnacle

Deep inside, Rayman new that it was only the light inside of him, Ly, and Frank, that was keeping them alive and sane, but he couldn't help but admiring just how far they'd come with so little help. While absentmindedly dodging Dark Leptys' attacks and countering with ones of his own, Rayman reflected on when he'd first met Frank, only six days ago, and everything that had happened; how they'd chased down Ly, set up a temporary base in Razoff's mansion (Rayman would have to ask Frank what the Hoodlum's connection to that place was when this was over), freed the late Razorbeard, as well as his ship...so much had happened in so little time. Looking back at it now, Rayman was amazed that they were even able to keep up with it all, let alone have a hand in setting things right.

Briefly pondering how calm he was, Rayman finally turned his full attention on Dark Leptys. The sight beast that constantly attacked him and his friends was enough to drive an ordinary person mad. Dark Leptys may have originally looked like a great, black eagle, but it had altered itself and the artificial landscape of the top of the Tower of Ruin. Red eyes grew out of shadowy stalks, vibrating and pulsing, as if trying to blink, but only straining themselves instead. The Leptys itself had grown extra heads; the visages Teensies, Knaaren, and other creatures swirled in and out of the large bird, writhing in agony. It seemed as if Mr. Dark himself had been eaten away by his insanity; the only sound he uttered was a constant cackle, endlessly changing in pitch and volume. Rays of shadow shot out from the great wings of Dark Leptys as hideous mutations of hoodlums, robo-pirates, antitoons, and other, still uglier creatures took form from the black legs, staggering out a few steps, as if attempting to lunge at the heroes, and finally melting into the shadow from whence they came.

Ly and Frank would sometimes appear out of the corners of Rayman's vision, sometimes attacking, sometimes evading. He could see Ly's now-white fireballs burning away the black feathers and flesh of Dark Leptys, as well as Frank's light bullets, piercing little holes through the large, evil bird. However, nothing seemed to be working.

"Light or no light, Rayman," Ly called, "we can't keep this up forever! We need to beat this thing soon!"

"How can we?" Frank asked from Rayman's other side. "Nothing we throw at him has enough of an effect! If it's hurting him, I certainly can't tell!" Rayman thought long and hard about the situation at hand. However, in every scenario he could imagine, he could think of nothing that would have any more of an effect than his regular attacks.

"What if Mr. Dark is the weak point?" Ly asked. Pausing briefly, she pointed to the familiar silhouette in the left eye of Dark Leptys. "He might be the mind of Dark Leptys, so attacking him would hurt it more than just hitting the body." Frank shrugged in between jumps.

"Better than anything I have," Rayman replied. "Alright! Frank, see if you can jump _into_ Dark Leptys' body! Ly and I will cover you!" Frank nodded, hopped back, and started running at one of the legs, easily dodging the shadow rays and creatures surrounding him. Ly and Rayman busily swatted away anything that came to close. Frank made a final leap at the leg of Dark Leptys when one of the rays swerved, aiming for Ly. Rayman curved his fist and batted the ray aside, but then heard the unusual sound of fabric being split open. Looking in front of him, he saw Frank, frozen in midair, a second ray coming out of his lower back.

"Frank!" Rayman shouted. "No!" Angrily shoving the ray out of his friend, he made a grab for the ex-hoodlum but missed. Frank passed through the floor, vanishing. The attacks from all sides stopped. Rayman and Ly stared in shock, as Mr. Dark's laughter grew louder than ever, filling Rayman up inside.

"I can't believe it," Ly muttered. "Frank...he's gone." Rayman felt sadness and guilt welling up inside his body. He'd let Frank down. At the last minute, Rayman had switched to deflecting a ray Ly was about to dodge, and it'd cost his other friend his life.

"We..." Rayman fought back his tears, and instead focused on the matter at hand. "We need to finish this. If for nothing else, than for him." Ly nodded. Rayman new what to do. Trying to keep his eyes open, Rayman sprinted forward and jumped into the leg before Dark Leptys noticed.

Rayman felt himself being pulled upward, as if he was in a big, black river with a current too strong to even try fighting. Suddenly, Rayman flew out of a hole in the floor of a strange room. In the center of the room was Mr. Dark, fused solid to the ground.

"How does it feel, Rayman, to lose such a good friend of yours?" Mr. Dark giggled, as if he were some kind of evil schoolgirl. "I hope it hurts. People in pain are so much more fun to kill. It almost becomes a game: 'How can I make them feel even _worse_?' It's so much fun." Rayman simply threw his fist out bitterly, punching Mr. Dark so hard it literally spun his head around.

"Want to play that game, hmm?" Mr. Dark laughed. Instantly, Rayman was pushed back to the wall and fused to it. Five black blades formed upon the wall, ceiling, and floor, all at the point to where if any one of them were extended just a little more, it go straight through a vital organ.

"You've _lost_ Rayman," Mr. Dark said, struggling to hold in twisted laughs. "You've lost your friends, you've lost your world, and you've lost mind. No wait—the last one's me. Oh well. Game over, Rayman." Rayman closed his eyes, waiting for the end. Instead he heard a familiar voice.

"And he said, 'Let there be light!'"

Suddenly, a flash light came up from the ground, so bright and powerful it blinded Rayman. All he could hear were the screams of Mr. Dark, and then—nothing.

Epilogue

"The Two Moons Above"

7 days after Heart detonation

Fairy Council

Rayman awoke some time later in the Chamber of the Heart in the Fairy Council. Ly was next to him, clutching his shoulder. Mr. Dark, meanwhile, was on the floor, panting. His form was lighter; Rayman could, for the first time, make out the features of his face. Also, his eyes had gone from yellow to white. Evidently, this transformation was causing the villain great pain.

And to the right of Rayman, standing where the Heart of the World once was, was Frank, warm, light energy swirling around his (oddly blurry) form.

"Frank!" Rayman couldn't help but laugh. Ly opened her eyes and gasped, a large smile spreading across her face. Mr. Dark looked up.

"It's...not possible," he muttered. "If the ray didn't kill you, the fall would've..." he coughed, spitting black blood onto the blue stone floor.

"It should've been impossible," Frank replied. "I took a risk—knowing that I was going to die anyway, I used the light we supposedly have in all of us to become the new Heart, like what it showed in that cave in the Summit. Then, because the Heart once again existed, your Tower, along with Dark Leptys, had to...end."

"So that was you," Rayman replied. "I owe you one. Does that mean that Globox and the others are back?"

"Everything's restored to how it was before," Frank answered calmly. Mr. Dark cringed in the background, fell to the ground, and dissolved. "He's even dead, like he's supposed to be."

"So, you survived then?" Ly asked hopefully. Frank looked away.

"You know how it goes," he rubbed his arm a little. "'One must sacrifice himself to become the Heart,' right? I'm getting worn out just by keeping my original form and talking to you." Rayman and Ly turned away. They both knew this was true, but it seemed to them like Frank had just come back. A childish part of Rayman didn't think it was fair, but he dismissed it.

"Hey," Frank consoled the two of them. "I may not be able to keep my form and talk to you guys, but I'll always be there—watching over you guys both." He pointed up at the still-open ceiling, where Rayman and Ly could see the two moons, back to normal along with the rest of the sky, peering down at them both. Rayman wiped his eyes, and he could see that Ly was crying beside him.

"Well I'm completely drained," Frank grinned, and Rayman couldn't tell if he was feigning happiness or not. "I'll be seeing you two...all the time. Good luck out there, Rayman. You too, Ly. Goodbye." Frank's form began to grow brighter, until it was entirely white. Then, it exploded into little stars, which gathered on the ground. The Heart of the World sprang to life, looking the same as ever (if, perhaps, a bit more orange). Instantly, the ceiling of the Fairy Council reformed, and Rayman and Ly heard the exuberant cheers of the Teensies and other folk below them. Looking at Ly, Rayman wiped a tear from his eye and smiled hopefully, offering his hand. Ly took it, and together, the two walked down to rejoin the Fairies, Teensies, and, of course, Globox, as well as tell them the story about a certain hoodlum, who one day decided to search for a missing hero...

**THE END**


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